Why are the "Kirin" brought back by Zheng He everywhere in the zoo now?

"Kirin is also a kind animal." As a legendary auspicious animal, Kirin's position in ancient China was not worse than that of the traditional dragon and phoenix. "Book of Rites Nine" says: "Lin, phoenix, turtle and dragon are collectively called the four spirits."

After Kirin, let's talk about "auspiciousness". What is auspiciousness? In ancient China, some strange things with good omen were collectively called auspicious. Some auspicious signs may be coincidences created by nature, but more auspicious signs are man-made. For example, when Cao Pi took Wei as the Han Dynasty, it inspired many auspicious signs all over the country, and so did Wu Zetian before she became queen.

After talking about Kirin, let's talk about Zheng He's voyage to the West. Zheng He's seven voyages to the West strengthened the communication and spread of Chinese and Western cultures, and at the same time, it was of great significance in the integration and development of the world and the great geographical discovery.

Of course, Zheng He didn't have so many lofty ideals and ambitions when he went to the West. During the 28 years from the third year of Yongle (1405) to the eighth year of Xuande (1433), there were two fundamental reasons for his seven voyages to the West. First, publicize China's prestige and declare the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty to the world; The second is to attract sacrifices from other countries and collect some rare species.

"Eat your wealth and worry about your troubles." Zheng He, as a famous "three treasures eunuch" in history, is definitely Judy's confidant. Can you not know Judy's little career? At first, Judy's superior position experienced some public opinion. If we can find auspicious animals like Kirin from overseas, we will certainly please Judy.

So on his fourth voyage, Zheng He bypassed the Arabian Peninsula and came to Kennedy, then called Malindi, and successfully found China's Swiss beast, the unicorn, on this land. Malindi was on his way, and when he heard that it was an auspicious beast of China, he quickly offered a tribute.

"Tian Fei Ling Ying Monument" records the precious animals paid tribute by overseas countries: "Adan entered Kirin, which was once called the ancestral thorn method and the horned Maha beast; All the bones are tied to the country, as well as flowers and lions ... "Judy looked, wow, Zheng He went to the Western Seas to enhance his national prestige and brought back his own Swiss beast. Isn't this God praising his achievements? That's called Long Xinxi, who directly ordered the painter to draw a unicorn.

So what exactly is this unicorn recovered by Zheng He? There is indeed a record in Ying Ya Sheng Lan that Malindi paid tribute to Kirin: "Kirin, with its first two feet more than nine feet high, its last two feet about six feet high, its head ten feet long, its neck six feet long, its head high and its back low, so no one can ride it. There are two horns on the head, in the ears. Oxtail deer has three hooves and a nameplate. Eat millet, beans and cakes. "

Does that sound familiar? Isn't giraffe everywhere in the zoo now? It seems that in ancient times, there were not only "referring to a deer as a horse" but also "referring to a deer as a forest". By the way, another cold knowledge, the giraffe in Japan is also called "Kirin".