The mythic Chinese unicorn

Contents

Introduction to the mythic Chinese unicorn -- Earliest pictographic evidence for the zhi -- The animal represented in the zhi pictograph -- Later evolution of Chinese characters -- The unicorn zhi and the law -- The "Tibetan unicorn" -- Images of zhi in the Shang dynasty -- Earliest pictorial evidence for the zhi -- The confusion about the lin -- Auspicious animals in Han art -- The zhi becomes a tomb door guardian -- Three-dimensional images of unicorn zhi -- The real unicorn Elasmotherium -- Dragons' bones and dragons' teeth -- The transformation of the unicorn -- The rhinoceros in ancient China -- The ancient uses of rhinoceros horn -- Rhinoceros horn and the poisonfeather bird -- Early maritime trade in rhino horn -- The Cinnamon Route -- The tastes of paradise -- The mythic rhinoceros-unicorn -- The magic of the horn -- Ge Hong's ideas and their influence -- The designs on the horn -- The spirit- rhinoceros-unicorn xiniu -- The ancient trade in narwhal horn -- Narwhal horn becomes magical -- Summary and conclusions.