The Ki-Lin's Cultural Role In Chinese Culture

The unicorn is most often compared to the rhinoceros. In fact, according to Costello, many people speculate that the “unicorn” Ctesias witnessed was actually the Asian rhinoceros (Costello 1979:96). According to Robin, many people seem to have made the same mistake throughout history, however, there have been sources who have been able to differentiate between the two animals. During his travels, Marco Polo carefully distinguished the Asian rhinoceros from the unicorn by saying that the rhinoceros “are not of that description of animals which suffer themselves to be taken by maidens, as out people suppose, but are of quite contrary nature” (Robin 1932:75). Dominican Friar Jordanus (1321) differentiated the rhinoceros from the real unicorn by

The Ki-lin is extremely complicated compared to the Western unicorn, which is representative of the complex and intricate Chinese culture. Also, according to Nigg, the unicorn is considered to be one of the four mythical creatures in Chinese culture, standing among the phoenix, dragon, and tortoise (Nigg 1995). The four mythical creatures are an integral part of the Chinese culture. The Ki-lin’s cultural role in Chinese society does not stop here, according to South. In his book, South describes how the Ki-lin has both male attributes (the ki) and female attributes (the lin). According to South, this balance of counterparts is evident in other places in Chinese culture as well, the most prominent example being the yin and the yang (South 1987). South’s mention of the male and female counterparts of the Chinese unicorn is interesting because most scholarly sources about the unicorn usually describe the creature as having predominantly “male” qualities. Both South and Nigg also emphasize the significance of the benevolent and gentle qualities of the Ki-lin. Nigg states that in Chinese culture, the Ki-lin is said to have a horn, however this horn is not ever used as a weapon (Nigg 1995). South supplements this statement by describing the horn as fleshy and soft, and therefore, incapable of being used as a weapon (South 1987). According to both South and Nigg, the two sources who describe the Chinese unicorn in great detail, the gentle, benevolent, and attractive qualities of the Ki-lin give it a role in Chinese culture as a source of goodness and wisdom. The Ki-lin is also said to signal the arrival of a great ruler and leader (Nigg 1995). Therefore, in Chinese society, the Ki-lin also serves as the cultural explanation for the “fortunate” events of the past and