Zouyu
A legendary Chinese beast, gentle yet tiger-like, appearing in good omens.
It is notable for being described as a righteous, vegetarian animal that appears only during the rule of a benevolent monarch.
Quick Facts
- Oc-zz
- ʔsru ŋʷa
- Oc-bs
- [ts]ˤro [ŋ]ʷ(r)a
Facts from the source article.
Attestations
The first known mention of the characters for Zouyu appears in the Book of Songs, though scholar J.J.L. Duyvendak found it highly uncertain that the poem actually refers to such a creature. Later texts describe it as a righteous, tiger-like beast that is fierce in appearance but gentle and vegetarian, with some sources, including the Shuowen Jiezi, calling it a white tiger with black spots. In 1404, during the Yongle Emperor's rule, his relative Prince Zhu Su from Kaifeng sent him a Zouyu captured in Shenhou; an anonymous painter later depicted it, and it turned out to be a rare white tiger.
Identity
The giant panda has been suggested as a possible identity for the Zouyu, a creature reportedly captured during the Yongle era, after Duyvendak wondered if it could have been a panda. Sinologist Wolfgang Behr groups the Zouyu with other leophoric names from ancient Chinese texts, like shizi and suanni, which referred to lions. Alternatively, Riordan and Shi propose that Zouyu and similar terms for mysterious pantherine predators may have described snow leopards.
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