The ''xiezhi'' ( <

Eastern Han Chinese Eastern Han Chinese (alternatively Later Han Chinese or Late Old Chinese) is the stage of the Chinese language Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, man ...

*''gɛʔ-ḍɛʔ''Schuessler, Axel (2007). ''An Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.) is a mythical creature of Chinese origin found throughout

Sinospheric The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...

legends. It resembles an ox or goat, with thick dark fur covering its body, bright eyes and a single long horn on its forehead. It has great intellect and understands human speech. The ''xiezhi'' possesses the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and when it finds corrupt officials, it will ram them with its horn and devour them. It is known as a symbol of justice.

History

According to legend, the ''xiezhi'', was a single-horned sheep or goat which had power to divine the guilt or innocence of a person. Gao Yao, the minister of justice for the legendary

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun ( zh, c=帝舜, p=Dì Shùn) was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 229 ...

employed the beast during criminal proceedings and he would command the sheep to ram (head-butt) the accused. The beast would ram the guilty, but spare the innocent. The account appears in

Wang Chong Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Eastern Han dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mecha ...

, ''Lunheng'' (80 AD). In the same work (''Lunheng''), the legend is prefaced the remark that public offices are painted with the images of the beast and the minister. As a symbol of traditional Chinese law, ''xiezhi'' has been promoted by the Chinese dynasties. The judicial hat () was also referred to as the ''xiezhi'' after the mythical sheep/ox. The ''xiezhi'' hat was part of the attire of censors () into the 8th century during the Tang period, especially for an impeachment trial. Legend has it that during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

and the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

, King Wen of Chu once obtained a ''xiezhi'' and put its image on his head and then the ''xiezhi'' crown became a fashion in the State of Chu. Law enforcement officials in the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

also wore such crowns, as did the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, which inherited the Qin system. By the

Eastern Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, images of the ''xiezhi'' became an indispensable ornament in the Xie Men, and the XieZhi crown was titled on the law. Therefore, law enforcement officials were called ''xiezhi''. Mentions of the ''xiezhi'' in Chinese literature can be traced back to the Han dynasty. " Rhapsody on the Imperial Park" (),

Sima Xiangru Sima Xiangru ( , c. 179117BC) was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician who lived during the Han dynasty#Western Han, Western Han dynasty. Sima is a significant figure in the history of Classical Chinese poetry, and is generally regarded as ...

mentions the ''xiezhi'' "sagacious stag" among the prey in the year-end barricade hunt staged by the Son of Heaven. Scholar Yáng Fú () described the ''xiezhi'' in his treatise '' Yiwu Zhi'' as a "righteous beast, which rams the wrongful party when it sees a fight and bites the wrongful party when it hears an argument". It is described in the ''

Shuowen Jiezi The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' is a Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen , during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). While prefigured by earlier reference works for Chinese characters like the ''Erya'' (), the ''Shuowen Jiezi'' contains the ...

'' as being "a cattle-like beast with one horn; in ancient times. It settled disputes by ramming the party at fault".''SWJZ''
"Radical 𢊁"
quote: "" As an inherently just beast, the ''xiezhi'' was used as a symbol of justice and law. The

Censorate The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). It was a highly effective agency during the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty ( ...

of the Ming and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

eras, who were responsible for the monitoring of the civil service, wore the ''xiezhi'' as a badge of office. Among the common folk, the image of the ''xiezhi'' was believed to dispel evil spirits; a ''xiezhi'' might be carved on a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

to frighten off evil spirits. Similarly, military policemen of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

wear badges bearing the ''xiezhi'' and it is engraved on the gavels in the law courts of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Etymology and Identity

Linguist and Sinologist Axel Schuessler reconstructs the Late Han pronunciation of this mythological animal's name ( ~ ) as *''gɛʔ-ḍɛʔ''. Noting that in

Zuo Zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

's chapter "Duke Xuan's 17th year", " is supposedly a graphical loan for 'understand'"," Schuessler (2007) apparently interprets it as "understand, distinguish"; yet there are other interpretations: such as "solution" by '' Ministry of Education Mandarin Chinese Dictionary'' or "decision" or "clarity" by

Bernard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conduct ...

. he suspects the gloss - when misunderstood - "ended up as a pre-syllable in the animal name" ~ and "may be responsible for the belief that this animal could tell straight from crooked, right from wrong." Schuessler points out that the animal name ~ is attested as early as in the Shang period's

oracle bone Oracle bones are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron which were used in pyromancya form of divinationduring the Late Shang period () in ancient China. '' Scapulimancy'' is the specific term if ox scapulae were used for the divination, ''p ...

s and once referred to real animals, i.e. small deer which were hunted by the Shang kings yet whose identity has been almost forgotten. He then proposes an

Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...

etymology by comparing (

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

: *) to Old Mon ' (> Burmese ''da.rai'' "

hog deer ''Axis'' is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Elde ...

"), Old Khmer ''drāy'' > Khmer ''triəy'' "stag" and Stieng iat''draːi'' " swamp deer", whose Proto-Mon-Khmer ancestor was reconstructed by Shorto as *''draaj'' (#1508). Linguist Juha Janhunen (2011) counts the "real goat-like animal (perhaps an antelope)" underlying as one among many sources (besides the

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

and others) which inspired the and notes that both the ''zhi'' and ''qilin'' were one-horned animals which could tell right from wrong.Janhunen, Juha (2011
"Unicorn, Mammoth, Whale"
in ''Linguistics, Archaeology and the Human Past: Occasional Paper'' 12. Kyoto: Institute for Humanity and Nature, Indus Project Research. p 189 – 222 However, Janhunen thinks that the graphs and , rather than being variants of each other, might have denoted different animals "but they became confused to the extent that both can be used in reference to the same range of vague folkloric and mythical beasts"; indeed, ''Shuowen Jiezi'' describes the as

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey u ...

s,''SWJZ'', vol. 10
radical 豸
quote: () translation: "(The character) zhi (stands for) wild beasts with elongated backbones that move flexibly, (when they) desire to kill their prey, they patiently wait and stalk (them)" from not one-horned cattle-like ungulates. Schwartz (2018) identifies the as the

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

().Schwartz, Adam (2018)
"Shang Sacrificial Animals: Material Documents and Images"
In: Sterckx R, Siebert M, Schäfer D, eds. ''Animals through Chinese History: Earliest Times to 1911''. Cambridge University Press; 2018: 20–45.)

Homage

In 2022, a species of prehistoric giraffoid artiodactyl from early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

China, '' Discokeryx xiezhi'', was named after the ''xiezhi'' in reference to a single bony plate on top of its skull which bore a resemblance to the horn of the mythical creature.

In other places

Japan

In Japan, it is known as , also sometimes referred to as a . The kaichi is described as similar to a lion with one horn on the top of its head.

Korea

The ''xiezhi'' is known as ''haetae'' () in Korea. According to Korean records, the ''haetae'' has a muscular leonine body covered with sharp scales, a bell in its neck and a horn on its forehead. It lives in the frontier areas of Manchuria.An Illustrated Guide to Korean Culture - 233 traditional key words by The National Academy of the Korean Language In Joseon-dynasty Korea, the ''haetae'' was believed to protect against fire disasters. Sculptures of ''haetae'' were used in architecture (for example, at Gyeongbok Palace) to ward off fire. A cartoon ''haetae'' named is the city mascot of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. In English, the ''haetae'' may be called "the

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

-lion."

Gallery

Xiezhi 5156.JPG, A xiezhi in Anhui Province, China Haetaea.jpg, A ''haetae'' at a Korean palace

Notes

References

External links

'Haechi' the Symbol of Seoul: Seoul City Official Tourism (English)
{{Japanese folklore long Chinese legendary creatures Legendary mammals