There are many classic accounts of the Qilin, and some of the important ones include:
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there is a story about Lu Aigong's "West Hunting and Capture Lin", and Confucius wept for this, and said, "My way is poor!."”。When Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, he once captured the white lin during the Yongci sacrifice, and the main auspicious person said that the unicorn was an auspicious omen for the birth of the holy king. During the Jin Dynasty, the Qilin was seen as a sign of Wang Mang's proclamation as emperor and the revival of the Han dynasty.
According to the Book of Song, Fu Ruizhi, the unicorn is described as having a body with a tail and a horn, with yellow round hooves and flesh at the end of the horn. Some legends say that the unicorn can also spit out jade books.
In ancient books such as "Book of Songs", "Book of Rites", and "Erya", there are records about unicorns. In "The Book of Songs, Zhou Nan, and the Toe of Lin", the toe of Lin is used to praise the numerous, benevolent, and intelligent sons and grandsons of Prince Wen. "Rites and Rites": "The unearthed instrument car, the river out of the horse, the phoenix unicorn, are all in the suburbs. Again: "Lin, phoenix, turtle, dragon, called the four spirits." ”
The ancient legend of the unicorn is a kind of Rui beast, set the head of the dragon, the antlers, the tiger's back, the bear's waist, the lion's eyes, the snake scales, the horse's hooves, the pig's tail in one, is an auspicious treasure. The ancient emperors all loved Lin, and regarded its appearance as the Chery of the country, which symbolized themselves as benevolent monarchs.
The above is the classic record of the unicorn. For more information, you can consult the relevant ancient books and literature.
The Divine Beasts of the Mountains and Seas