Qilin is a kind of auspicious divine beast in China's ancient myths and legends, and the "Biography of the Ram" in the Warring States period records:
"Lin, ren beast also." "Hoyir? Non-Chinese beasts also"; Qilin "non-Ming kings do not come out", only the reign of the Holy Ming monarch will appear, "those who have kings will come, and those who have no kings will not arrive"
In the myths and legends of the unicorn and the dragon and the phoenix, they are all sacred beasts in the ancient period, but so far people have not found any evidence of their existence.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He went to the West seven times, although it cost a lot of money, but also brought back a lot of strange things from overseas, and it is said that he also brought back two unicorns.
Zheng He brought back two qilins, the court was shocked, and the Ming Dynasty specially asked the painter to paint the qilin in order to commemorate it.
However, after the portrait was made public, it caused everyone to be amused, what is the reason? What creatures did Zheng He bring back?
The biography of Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty records that Zheng He's early life is unknown, and he was transferred to serve in the Yan King's Palace after the Battle of Pingnan in the Ming Dynasty, that is, he became a slave in the Yan King's Palace.
The King of Yan was Zhu Di, the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang unified the world and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty to establish the Ming Dynasty, originally intending to pass the throne to the crown prince Zhu Biao, but Zhu Biao was weak and died in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.
The death of crown prince Zhu Biao made Zhu Yuanzhang sad, but it became an opportunity for other princes.
However, what people did not expect was that Zhu Yuanzhang did not choose an heir among other sons, but passed the throne to Zhu Biao's son, his own grandson Zhu Yunjiao.
After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Yunzhi ascended the throne and was known as Emperor Jianwen.
Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to protect the Ming Dynasty, made many princes king, and Zhu Di was made the King of Yan and guarded Beijing.
After Zhu Yunjiao ascended the throne, he began to cut the domain, and within a year, many princes were deposed, and Zhu Di felt that a crisis was coming, so he launched the Battle of Jingnan, attacked Nanjing in one fell swoop, and ascended the throne as emperor.
In the chaos, Emperor Jianwen disappeared, some people said that he was burned to death in the palace, others said that he fled abroad, it is said that Zheng He went to the West several times, including the purpose of finding Emperor Jianwen.
After Zhu Di decided to send people to the West, Zheng He was appointed as a regular envoy, the fundamental reason was that Zheng He had military talent and was deeply trusted by Zhu Di.
According to the Ming history, Zheng He, as a eunuch, had made meritorious contributions to Zhu Di during the Battle of Jingnan, so Zhu Di was declared empress dowager and still kept Zheng He by his side.
Some people believe that Emperor Jianwen disappeared after burning the imperial palace, and it is said that he fled overseas, so Zhu Di sent Zheng He to the West to find Emperor Jianwen.
However, this claim is only speculation of later generations, and the main reason is to promote the Great Ming Dynasty, obtain overseas tributes, expand the economy, and strengthen ties with overseas countries.
Zheng He went to the West for seven times, although the cost was huge, the benefits brought by it could not be underestimated, and at the same time enriched overseas culture, and brought back many strange things from overseas.
At one point, Zheng He claimed to have brought back two unicorns.
It should be known that the Qilin is a sacred beast, and in the historical documents, the appearance of the Qilin represents the birth of the Holy King.
Zhu Di was so excited about this that he rushed to watch with hundreds of officials.
After receiving the affirmation of many ministers, Zhu Di told the world that the Qilin appeared in the palace, and ordered the painter in the palace to paint the Qilin down, which is the following "Ruiying Qilin Diagram".
Under the hype of Zhu Di, this picture became the Divine Beast Qilin .
However, in the eyes of our modern people, at a glance, we know that this is a giraffe.
Although Zhu Di felt that this was not like a Qilin, he could only deceive himself with his scalp, why?
He himself was not an emperor who succeeded to the throne, but he obtained the throne by plotting against the enemy and killing, and Chinese since ancient times, he paid attention to the right words and words, and Zhu Di was not justified.
In order to reduce the infamy of future generations, Zhu Di racked his brains and constantly hyped up for himself, and any opportunity would not be missed.
At this time, Zheng He was very much in line with Zhu Di's appetite, and offered two qilins, Zhu Di Longyan Washe, and took the opportunity to hype it even more, in order to prove that even the heavens recognized their throne, should the people of the world also shut up?
Reference historical materials: "Ming History", the picture comes from the Internet!