Rhinoceros wine vessel dating to the Western Han (206 BC – AD 9).
The existence of rhinoceroses in ancient China is attested both by archaeological evidence and by references in ancient Chinese literature. Depictions of rhinoceroses in ancient Chinese art are typically very accurate and lifelike, suggesting that they were modelled first-hand by the artist on living rhinoceroses rather than being based on legend or traveller's tales.[1] The main species of rhinoceros that lived in China in ancient times has been identified as the Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), more especially the Northern Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis), although the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) were also present.
There are two ancient Chinese characters that have been interpreted as meaning 'rhinoceros': xī 犀; and sì 兕 (the former character is used in the modern Chinese word for 'rhinoceros', xīniú 犀牛). In the early 2nd century dictionary, Shuowen Jiezi, the xī is defined as "an ox occurring beyond the southern frontier. It has a horn on its nose and another one on the crown of its head; it resembles a pig"; and the sì (written as 𤉡, a variant of 兕) is defined as being "like a wild ox and dark-colored".[2][3][4] In the Erya glossary, probably compiled during the 3rd century BC, the xī is said to resemble a boar, whereas the sì is said to resemble an ox, but the commentary by Guo Pu (276–324) elaborates, stating that the xī is like a water buffalo, but with a large paunch, short legs, three toes on each foot, and three horns on a pig-like head, two on its forehead and one on its nose; and the sì has a single horn.[5][6][7][4] It is evident from these two sources that the xī refers to the two-horned Sumatran Rhinoceros, but it is not clear what exactly the sì refers to. Some authorities suppose that the sì refers to the one-horned Javan Rhinoceros, and some follow the definition given, for examples, in the Tang book Xinxiu Bencao by Su Jing (aka Su Gong, died 674),[8] in the 1037 CE rime dictionaryJiyun, or the Ming dynastymateria medica, Bencao Gangmu, that the sì is the name for a female rhinoceros;[9][10][11][12] on the other hand, many scholars believe that the sì refers to a type of wild buffalo,[13] or even that the si may have been used as a name for both the more common buffalo and the rarer rhinoceros.[14]
In prehistoric times, China was home to the gigantic one-horned Elasmotherium, which survived until the late Pleistocene, becoming extinct as late as about 20,000 years ago. It has been speculated that the Chinese "unicorn", known as the qilin or zhi is a cultural memory of the Elasmotherium. A wooden sculpture of a charging bull-like creature with a huge single horn, similar to modern reconstructions of the Elasmotherium, was discovered in a late Western Han (206 BC – AD 9) tomb at Wuwei, Gansu in 1959.[15]
All three Asian rhinoceros once lived in China. Most depictions of rhinoceroses in Shang, Zhou and Han art show two distinct horns, and in some cases wrinkles around the eyes are also evident, which are features only found in the Sumatran Rhinoceros (Indian and Javan rhinoceroses only having a single horn).[14] However, a few examples of sculptures showing one-horned rhinoceroses are also known, for example on a bronze cylinder supported by three rhinoceroses from the tomb of King Cuo of Zhongshan (late 4th century BC).[14] Some historians have taken this as evidence that, in addition to the Sumatran Rhinoceros and Northern Sumatran rhinoceros which were more widely distributed within China, the one-horned Javan Rhinoceros was also present in ancient China.[16] On the other hand, the posterior horn of the Sumatran Rhinoceros is often undeveloped and inconspicuous, so it is still possible that such examples of one-horned rhinoceroses may in fact also represent the Sumatran Rhinoceros.[14]
During the Shang dynasty the range of the rhinoceros may have reached as far north in Inner Mongolia as the territory of the Shang kings, in the Yellow River valley,[14] but over time its range was reduced, and by the Han dynasty it was no longer present in northern China, north of the Yangtze River and in Zhongyuan.[4] It was thought the colder climate of northeast Asia caused habitat loss for the rhinoceroses. By the Tang dynasty (618–907) it was only found in an area south of the Yangtze River, such as in the modern southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan.[16][17] During the Song dynasty (960–1279), it was revealed that the demand for rhino horn caused the extinction of rhinoceros in central to northern China.[citation needed] One of the last outposts of the native Chinese rhinoceros was Sichuan, where rhinoceroses were reported to be living up to the late 17th century.[18] The last native population of rhinoceros only became extinct in Yunnan province in the 20th century, although a small population of Southern white rhinoceroses (native to South Africa) were introduced in 2003.[19]
Rhinoceros hunting
Several Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions record the hunting of the sì,[20] including one famous inscription that tells how an accident befell King Wu Ding's hunting party whilst in pursuit of a sì:
On the day Jiawu the king went to hunt a rhinoceros. The carriage of courtier Chu broke its axis. A gelding tripped over stones and bolted away from the king's carriage. Prince Yang also fell down.[21]
The Book of Songs, dating to the Western Zhou (c. 1046–771 BC), also describes the hunting of the sì:
We have bent our bows; We have our arrows on the string. Here is a small boar transifixed; There is a large rhinoceros killed. The spoil will be presented to the visitors and guests, Along with the cup of sweet wine. — Book of Songs no.180, trans. James Legge (1814–1897)[22]
However, as discussed above, some scholars now believe that the sì was a wild buffalo rather than a rhinoceros. The character for the xī, which is universally agreed to refer to the rhinoceros, does not occur in oracle bone inscriptions, so there is no certain literary evidence that rhinoceroses were hunted during the Shang dynasty. Nevertheless, there is some archaeological evidence, in the form of a tarsal bone and a carpal bone from a rhinoceros, that rhinoceroses were present in the region of the Shang capital Yin,[13] and most historians accept that rhinoceroses probably were hunted during the Shang dynasty.[14]
The earliest literary mention of hunting the xī rhinoceros occurs in the "Great Capture" chapter of the Lost Book of Zhou (Yizhoushu 逸周書), where the results of a hunting trip on an enormous scale by the first king of the Zhou dynasty, King Wu, are recounted:
In the Manshu (Tang dynasty) it states that rhinoceroses were hunted by the Nanzhao (in modern Yunnan) using pit traps, and that it was believed that killing one would always bring a thunderstorm.[24]
Rhinoceroses in captivity
One of the earliest pieces of evidence for a captive rhinoceros in China comes from the tomb of Empress Dowager Bo (died 155 BC), a concubine of the first emperor of the Han dynasty, where a complete rhinoceros's skeleton was unearthed. It is thought that this was a specimen from the royal zoo.[25] The Analects has this interesting saying which indicates rhinos were held captive even during the period of Confucius (500 B.C.E): "And further, you speak wrongly. When a tiger or rhinoceros escapes from his cage; when a tortoise or piece of jade is injured in its repository:-whose is the fault?" ("Analects 16:7).
During the Tang dynasty a number of rhinoceroses were presented to the imperial court from south-east Asian countries, including Champa, Chinrap, and Kalinga, as well as Tibet and a country named as Persia. At least some of these rhinoceroses were specimens of the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).[16] Performing elephants and rhinoceroses took part in the entertainments for Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (reigned 712–756).[16]
Rhinoceroses in early Chinese art
Rhinoceros-shaped wine vessel dating to the late Shang dynasty.
The earliest, and one of the most impressive, examples of a rhinoceros in Chinese art is a bronze zun wine vessel unearthed in Shandong in 1843, and formerly in the collection of Avery Brundage, which is thought to date to the reign of the last king of Shang, during the first half of the 11th century BC. The vessel is in the form of a two-horned rhinoceros with a rotund body and splayed legs, possibly a Sumatran rhino.[1]
Another bronze rhinoceros wine vessel, dating to the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 9), was discovered in Shaanxi in 1963 (shown at the top of this page). This one is even more lifelike and realistic than the Shang dynasty example, and must have been modelled on an actual rhinoceros.[26] It is also a more highly decorated piece of art, with complex cloud patterns inlaid into its skin with gold and silver wire. Laurence Sickman has noted that "[i]n its bony head, powerful shoulders, ponderous hindquarters, thick folds of skin, firmly planted hoofs, and stance with head lifted on the alert, the essential reality of a rhinoceros is present in a bronze of superlative quality".[1] This rhinoceros has two horns and shows distinctive wrinkles around the eyes which are characteristic features of the Sumatran Rhinoceros.[14] The lid of the vessel is in the form of a saddle, and straps attaching the saddle to the rhinoceros go around the belly of the animal, suggesting that the model for this vessel must have been a tame rhinoceros.[26]
Rhinoceros hide armour
Drawing of rhinoceros hide and buffalo hide armour.
During the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BC) rhinoceros hide was used for armour. The Rites of Zhou specifies:
The rhinoceros-hide armour was of seven folds or links, one over another; the wild-buffalo's-hide armour was of six folds or links; and the armour, made of two hides together was of five folds or links. The rhinoceros-hide armour would endure 100 years; the wild-buffalo-hide armour 200 years; and the armour of double hide 300 years.[27]
During the Warring States period, the southern State of Chu was renowned for its rhinoceros hide armour, and the philosopher Xun Zi from the northern State of Qi, who was an official in Chu for a short time, notes that "[t]he soldiers of Chu were equipped with armour made of sharkskin and rhinoceros hide as hard as metal or stone, and with pikes of Nanyang steel that could sting a man like a wasp or a scorpion".[28]
Rhinoceros and buffalo hide was also recorded to have been used for the inner coffin of the emperor, as it was supposed to preserve the body, similar in function to Han dynasty jade burial suits.[29]
In the Manshu (Tang dynasty) it states that rhino and buffalo hide was used for saddles, armor and weapons of Nanzhao troops in Yunnan.[24]
From an early date, rhinoceros horn was believed to have special properties, in particular that it would react by fizzing if it came into contact with poison, and so cups made out of rhinoceros horn were valued as a protection against poisoning.[15] It is thought that rhinoceros horn cups developed during the Warring States Period or earlier,[30] and rhinoceros cups (Chinese sìgōng 兕觥) feature prominently in pre-Han literature; they are, for example, mentioned in four of the 300 odes of the Book of Songs (nos. 3, 154, 215 and 292).[22] Although there are no surviving examples of rhinoceros horn cups from this period, imitation rhinoceros horn cups are known, such as a version made of jade from the tomb of King Zhao Mo of Nanyue (reigned 137–122 BC).[31]
The earliest surviving examples of rhinoceros cups are examples held at the Shōsōin treasure house in Nara, Japan, that date to the Tang dynasty. During the Tang dynasty cups like these were used as presents for successful candidates in the imperial examinations.[32]
Cups made out of rhinoceros horn were very popular during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties, when they were used as libation cups for ritual purposes.[32] Many examples of Ming and Qing rhinoceros horn cups are held in museums and private collections,[30] and in recent years a number of rhinoceros horn cups have sold for large sums of money:
In addition to cups, rhinoceros horn was also sometimes used to make other objects, such as medicine / snuff bottles, hair pins, belt hooks, and dress toggles. Due to high demand for rhinoceros horn medicine, rhinoceros horn carvings were ground down for medicine. Whilst the popularity of libation cups has aided their survival, it appears far fewer of these other examples have survived.[36]
The qilin is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts. The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other Chinese-influenced cultures.
The Javan rhinoceros, also known as the Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros, is a very rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It belongs to the Rhinoceros genus and has a mosaic, armour-like skin, is 3.1–3.2 m (10–10 ft) long and 1.4–1.7 m (4.6–5.6 ft) high. Its horn is usually shorter than 25 cm (9.8 in). Only adult bulls have horns. The Javan rhinoceros ranged from the islands of Java and Sumatra throughout Southeast Asia and into India and China. Today, it is critically endangered, with only one known population in the wild, and no individuals in captivity. It is one of the rarest large mammals on Earth, with a population of approximately 74 in Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java in Indonesia. The Javan rhinoceros population in Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park was declared to be locally extinct in 2011. The decline of Javan rhinoceros is attributed to poaching, primarily for its horns, which are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine, fetching as much as US$30,000 per kg on the black market. As European presence in its range increased, trophy hunting also became a serious threat. Loss of habitat, especially as the result of wars, such as the Vietnam War, has also contributed to its decline and hindered recovery. The remaining range is within one nationally protected area, but it is still at risk from poachers, disease, and loss of genetic diversity leading to inbreeding depression. Ujung Kulon National Park is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A rhinoceros, commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.
The Indian rhinoceros, or Indian rhino for short, also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, the alluvial Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment. As of August 2018, the global population was estimated to comprise 3,588 individuals, including 2,939 individuals in India and 649 in Nepal. Kaziranga National Park alone had an estimated population of 2,048 rhinos in 2009. Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam has the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world with 84 individuals in an area of 38.80 km2 (14.98 sq mi) in 2009.
Dicerorhinus is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros, and several extinct species. The genus likely originated in the Mid to Late Pliocene of Northern Indochina and South China. Many species previously placed in this genus probably belong elsewhere.
The Erya or Erh-ya is the first surviving Chinese dictionary. The sinologist Bernhard Karlgren concluded that "the major part of its glosses must reasonably date from the 3rd century BC."
A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent. In mammals, true horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae (pronghorn) and Bovidae. Cattle horns arise from subcutaneous connective tissue and later fuse to the underlying frontal bone.
Chinese armour was predominantly lamellar from the Warring States period onward, prior to which animal parts such as rhinoceros hide, rawhide, and turtle shells were used for protection. Lamellar armour was supplemented by scale armour since the Warring States period or earlier. Partial plate armour was popular from the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589), and mail and mountain pattern armour from the Tang dynasty (618–907). Chain mail had been known since the Han dynasty, but did not see widespread production or battlefield use, and may have seen as "exotic foreign armor" used as a display of wealth for wealthier officers and soldiers. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), brigandine began to supplant lamellar armour and was used to a great degree into the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). By the 19th century most Qing armour, which was of the brigandine type, were purely ceremonial, having kept the outer studs for aesthetic purposes, and omitted the protective metal plates.
Ba was an ancient state in eastern Sichuan, China. Its original capital was Yicheng, Hubei. Ba was conquered by Qin in 316 BC. The historical Bo people and the modern Tujia people trace some of their origins back to the people of Ba.
Qiulong or qiu was a Chinese dragon that is contradictorily defined as "horned dragon" and "hornless dragon".
The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions, is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia and Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Province" is the word used to translate zhou (州) – since before the Tang dynasty, it was the largest Chinese territorial division. Although the current definition of the Nine Provinces can be dated to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, it was not until the Eastern Han dynasty that the Nine Provinces were treated as actual administrative regions.
The xiezhi is a mythical ancient creature of Chinese origin impact to throughout East Asian 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.
Kui is a polysemous figure in ancient Chinese mythology. Classic texts use this name for the legendary musician Kui who invented music and dancing; for the one-legged mountain demon or rain-god Kui variously said to resemble a Chinese dragon, a drum, or a monkey with a human face; and for the Kuiniu wild yak or buffalo.
The Xianyun was an ancient nomadic tribe that invaded the Zhou dynasty. This Chinese exonym is written with xian獫 or 玁 "long-snouted dog", and this "dog" radical 犭 is commonly used in graphic pejorative characters. They were traditionally identified with the Xunyu, Guifang and Xiongnu.
The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros. It is the most common and widespread subspecies of rhinoceros.
The Shenglei 聲類, compiled by the Cao Wei dynasty lexicographer Li Deng 李登, was the first Chinese rime dictionary. Earlier dictionaries were organized either by semantic fields or by character radicals. The last copies of the Shenglei were lost around the 13th century, and it is known only from earlier descriptions and quotations, which say it was in 10 volumes and contained 11,520 Chinese character entries, categorized by linguistic tone in terms of the wǔshēng 五聲 "Five Tones " from Chinese musicology and wǔxíng 五行 "Five Phases/Elements" theory.
"Hymn to the Fallen" (Jiu Ge) is a Classical Chinese poem which has been preserved in the Nine Songs section of the ancient Chinese poetry anthology, the Chu ci, or The Songs of Chu, which is an ancient set of poems. Together, these poems constitute one of the 17 sections of the poetry anthology which was published under the title of the Chuci. Despite the "Nine" in the title, the number of these poetic pieces actually consists of eleven separate songs, or elegies. This set of verses seems to represent some shamanistic dramatic practices of the Yangzi River valley area involving the invocation of divine beings and seeking their blessings by means of a process of courtship. The poetry consists of lyrics written for performance as part of a religious drama, however the lack of stage directions or indications of who is supposed to be singing at any one time or whether some of the lines represent lines for a chorus makes an accurate reconstruction of how such a shamanic drama would actually have been performed quite uncertain; although, there are internal textual clues, for example indicating the use of spectacular costumes for the performers, and an extensive orchestra. Although not precisely dated, "Hymn to the Fallen" dates from the end of the late the Warring States period, ended 221 BCE, with possible revisions in the Han dynasty, particularly during the reign of Han Wudi, during 141 to 87 BCE. The poem has been translated into English by David Hawkes as "Hymn to the Fallen". "Guo shang" is a hymn to soldiers killed in war. Guó (國) means the "state", "kingdom", or "nation". Shāng (殤) means to "die young". Put together, the title refers to those who meet death in the course of fighting for their country. David Hawkes describes it as "surely one of the most beautiful laments for fallen soldiers in any language".
Mo (貘) was the standard Chinese name for the giant panda from the 3rd century BCE to the 19th century CE, but in 1824, the French sinologist Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat mistakenly identified the mo as the recently discovered black-and-white Malayan tapir, which never inhabited China in historical times. He based this misidentification on Chinese woodblock illustrations that depicted a mythological mo (貘) chimera with elephant trunk, rhinoceros eyes, cow tail and tiger paws, which the famous Tang poet Bai/Bo Juyi first described in the 9th century. The consequences of Abel-Rémusat's error were extensive. His presumption that mo meant "Chinese tapir" was immediately adopted in Western zoology, and by the end of the 19th century, it was accepted as modern scientific fact in China and Japan. In the 20th century, since mo had lost its original meaning, the giant panda was given a new Chinese name da xiongmao.
1 2 3 Laufer, Berthold (1914). Chinese Clay Figures Part 1: Prolegomena on the History of Defensive Armor. Field Museum of Natural History Publication 177 (Anthropological Series Vol. XIII, No. 2). Field Museum of Natural History. pp.89–96.
↑ Li Shizhen, Bencao Gangmu (Siku Quanshu version)"vol. 51, section 犀" quote: "犀字篆文象形其牸名兕亦曰沙犀" translation: "The character 犀 (xī) in seal script is a pictogram; [the 犀's] female [counterpart] is named 兕 (sì); also called a sand 犀"
1 2 Fiskesjö, Magnus (2001). "Rising from blood-stained fields: royal hunting and state formation in Shang China". Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. 73: 49–191.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stephen, Barbara (1991). "The Bow-Shaped Bronze Fitting and Its Context in Shang China". In Ching, Julia; Guisso, R. W. L. (eds.). Sages and Filial Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China. Chinese University Press. pp.186–187. ISBN978-962-201-469-5.
↑ Rookmaaker, Cornelis (1980). "The Distribution of the Rhinoceros in Eastern India, Bangladesh, China, and the Indo-Chinese Region". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 2005: 260.
↑ Meacham, William (1993). "Sha Po Tsuen". Journal of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. 13: 33–54. ISSN1991-7295.
1 2 Chapman, Jan (1999). The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China. Christies's Books. p.37. ISBN978-0-903432-57-3.
↑ William Raymond Gingell (1852). The Ceremonial Usages of the Chinese: B. C. 1121, as prescribed in the "Institutes of the Chow dynasty strung as pearls;" or, Chow le kwan choo. Smith, Elder, & co. p.81.
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