In Western mythology, unicorns are often depicted as a mystical creature resembling a white horse, symbolizing purity, nobility, and strength. They are not only gentle and mysterious but are also sometimes endowed with the ability to fly. Ancient Greek literature mentions that unicorns originated from India about 2000 years ago.

Interestingly, ancient China also has legends about unicorns. It is said that over 2000 years ago during the Warring States period (475-221 BC), the king of Chu obtained a divine creature called the "Xiezhi (獬豸)," which resembled a sheep with a single horn on its head, capable of discerning right from wrong. The king of Chu even made a hat from the animal's horn. Stone sculptures of the Xiezhi were also placed in front of many emperors' mausoleums. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the image of this creature was often carved on the insignias of imperial censors to emphasize their duty of overseeing justice.

The Xiezhi was said to knock over the unjust side with its horn when witnessing a fight, and to bite the party at fault in a dispute. Because of its innate ability to discern right from wrong, it has become a symbol of legal justice over a history spanning 2000 years. Today in China, statues of Xiezhi can be seen in front of many famous universities' law schools and courthouses, serving to remind legal practitioners and officials to be discerning and uphold justice like Xiezhi.

These statues typically take the form of a sheep or a qilin. However, in 1956, during the construction of a farm in northwest China's Gansu Province, a Chinese version of a unicorn that closely resembles the one described in Western narratives was discovered.

This unicorn is 24.5 cm tall and 74.7 cm long. When found, it was placed at the front of the tomb chamber, head facing outwards, clearly serving as a tomb guardian. It stands on its forelimbs with its hind limbs bent, and its body is decorated with cloud patterns. Its era was determined to be from the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period. After consulting with Three Kingdoms archaeology experts from both northern and southern China, I learned that this type of tomb-guarding beast has only been found in the region of Wei, and most of the time, it appears in the form of wood.

Despite the cultural differences between the East and the West, there is a remarkable similarity in humanity's collective pursuit of the mystical and the supernatural. The human quest for purity, strength, wisdom, justice, and morality transcends the boundaries of time, culture, and geography.

点击图片查看原图