Research
By Noam Backner
A Strange Beast at the Song Court
“On July 21, 1058, the state of Jiaozi presented a beast to the imperial court, claiming it was a qilin.”
“On July 21, 1058, the state of Jiaozi presented a beast to the imperial court, claiming it was a qilin. The animal looked much like a water buffalo, though it had a single horn at the tip of its nose and lived on a diet of vegetables.
The Chinese experts, however, ruled that this was no qilin. Consequently, the court rejected the tribute, dismissing the creature as nothing more than a 'strange beast.'
(History of the Song Dynasty 12: 13b-14a; 488: 14a;)
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