Besides my deep love for East Asia history,I also take interest in Chinese Mythology.

China's Qilin 麒麟 is one spiritually endowed mystical beast similiar to the unicorn in the West. There have been legends about Qilin since the Zhou Dynasty ( 周朝 ),often depicted as a docile creature although it had a horn on its head.Hence for generations, the Qilin 麒麟 was loved and cherished by the rulers.It was rare to spot a Qilin 麒麟 and if one was sighted, it was regarded as a national treasure that helped boost the authority of the ruler.

Among the common folk,the Qilin 麒麟 was an auspicious symbol,and there was the custom of 'The Qilin 麒麟 bestowing a Child'. According to one legend, there was an elderly artist who was childless. One night, he saw a golden, sparkling Qilin 麒麟 - with a child on its back - walking towards him. The artist was delighted, only to awake and find it was a dream. The following year, his elderly wife became pregnant and gave birth to a son. The boy was extremely clever and could recite poetry and paint when he was only six years old. People called this boy ' The Qilin Child 麒麟 '. This legend was spread far and wide. When it was the Spring Festival, people would paste pictures that depict this legend.

Today,麒麟 Qilin remains as an auspicious symbol among the Chinese and pendants with designs of the Qilin are worn by children for good health and happiness.

Qilin ( 麒麟 Chinese unicorn ) "The body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hooves of a horse, and a single short horn growing out of the middle of its forehead. The hair on its back is five-colored to represent the five sacred Chinese colors: red, yellow, blue, white, and black. The hair on its belly is yellow."

- a creature of good omen
- said to have 5-colored scales which would signify auspiciousness
- male is “ qi 麒”, female is “ lin 麟”
- male has a horn, none on female
- tip of horn is fleshy, so unfit for war
- able to walk on land and water
- always solitary
- kind, benevolent, discriminatory mind

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirin_Brewery