And when the Chinese first saw giraffes from Africa, they thought giraffes was their Kirins.
So even to this day, Koreans and Japanese still call giraffes ‘kirins’. Except for Chinese, whom now call giraffes ‘long-necked deers’.
Actually, the legend (5th century BC) came before their knowledge of giraffes (Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644).
Because of their ability to “walk on grass without disturbing it” (a kirin/qilin ability, mimicked by an animal just taking such freaking long strides that any trampling would take ages to notice), their coat pattern (vaguely resembles scales) and a plethora of other little details, the association was actually pretty easy to make.
And having a mythical creature known for luck, prosperity, and divine justice staying in his garden was really good press for the Emperor.
Actually, a pair of giraffes were brought back from East Africa to China by a Chinese explorer. They were presented to the Emperor who declared them magical. The legends started from there.
@Chuy Ryu
That to. Because Kirin is the Japanese word for it, Qilin is the Chinese form of it. Also Qilins have lion-like tails while Kirin have a more ox-like tail.
Take word giraffe, and translate it to japanese.
I believe they are, just didn’t have enough airtime to have a chance to speak
Giraffa camelopardalis
SO they called it a cameleopard!!
Huh, okay, thanks
I’ll go and change the description
Because of their ability to “walk on grass without disturbing it” (a kirin/qilin ability, mimicked by an animal just taking such freaking long strides that any trampling would take ages to notice), their coat pattern (vaguely resembles scales) and a plethora of other little details, the association was actually pretty easy to make.
And having a mythical creature known for luck, prosperity, and divine justice staying in his garden was really good press for the Emperor.
When giraffes were first brought into China by traders during the Ming Dynasty from Bengal, people thought they were Kirins.
Edited
But she forgot to bring the cure water to Ponyville
Or a Girafarig
@Background Pony #EE55
Agreed
But she trained her skill points in potion crafting and overcame her limitations.
That to. Because Kirin is the Japanese word for it, Qilin is the Chinese form of it. Also Qilins have lion-like tails while Kirin have a more ox-like tail.