The Ming court mistook a giraffe for the mythical qilin.
It reached Nanjing in 1414 with Zheng He’s fleet, and officials congratulated the emperor: a qilin appears only under a sage ruler.
The events
- A giraffe at the Ming court1414 · Nanjing. In 1414 envoys from Bengal, sailing with Zheng He’s fleet, presented a giraffe to the Yongle Emperor. The court saw in it a qilin, the auspicious beast that appears under a wise ruler, and a court artist painted its portrait.
- Voyages of Zheng He1405–1433 · Nanjing. Admiral Zheng He's fleet of hundreds of ships made seven voyages across the Indian Ocean, reaching Arabia and the East African coast. The expeditions displayed Ming power, but the court halted them after 1433.
More amazing facts
- 1408 · 1900 Less than 4% survives of the world's largest encyclopedia before Wikipedia.
- 1408 · 1492 By the time Columbus sailed, there were probably no Europeans left in Greenland.
- 1410 · 1490 Legend says the maker of Prague's astronomical clock was blinded so he could not build another.
- 1411 · 1429 Rublev's Trinity (1411 or 1425–1427) and Joan of Arc's relief of Orléans (1429) belong to the same generation.
- 1414 In Japanese and Korean the giraffe is still called “kirin”, the name of the mythical qilin.
- 1415 Knights were not winched onto their horses.