| The Classic of Mountains and Seas was compiled by adherents of Yin Dynasty and was roughly formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty.Afterwards,from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States period,it was continuously enriched.And the text was added and organized during Qin and Han dynasties.This book records the history,customs,and biological conditions of our country in ancient times,so it is a classical document of great significance for literature,history,geography and even biological research.According to its nature,it can be divided into two parts:one is The Book of Mountains which is a natural history,and another is The Book of Rivers which contains pictures and explanations.The unicorn originally referred to the one horn horse-shaped and pure white animal that symbolizes nobility and purity in Western works.The literal meaning of a unicorn in Chinese is a creature with only one horn.Therefore,this paper expands the meaning of unicorns from horse-like creatures with a single horn in Western literature to all creatures with one horn.So any creature with a single horn can be called a unicorn here.This paper selects the unicorns in The Classic of Mountains and Seas as the research object.Through the analysis of their images,special functions,descriptions in later documents,and the comparison with other unicorns and other creatures at home and abroad,it explores the differences in political,cultural,geographical and biological aspects of different eras.The cultural differences between China and the West are also analyzedThrough the preliminary analysis of the unicorn image in The Classic of Mountains and Seas,it can be mutually confirmed with the nature of The Book of Mountains which is a natural history.By analyzing the different places where unicorns appear,we can affirm and question the geographical scope described in The Classic of Mountains and Seas in a certain sense.And through the research of "Si",it is concluded that scholars’ determination of the geographical scope of The Classic of Mountains and Seas is not accurate.By analyzing the special functions of unicorns,it is concluded that in ancient times,the ancestors had mastered fire and war was extremely important.The descriptions of unicorns in later documents shows the ancients’choice of culture and their awareness of a better way to pass on this kind of animal,and that is,to make it divinity.Compared with the simple image of unicorns in he Book of Mountains and Rivers,other unicorns are obviously a mixture of a variety of creatures with special meaning,and the image is not static,but will change according to the actual situation.Compared with its biological meaning,it serves political and religious needs.This paper takes the comparison between Chinese unicorns and Western unicorns as the starting point,and combines the differences between other Chinese and Western creatures such as dragons and phoenixes,and analyzes them from different perspectives such as appearance,special functions,and meanings,and draws the conclusion that their differences are related to politics,culture and view if nature.Through the analysis of some Western film and television literature works today,it is further verified that under the process of globalization,the integration of global culture and the popularization of Chinese culture in the West,as well as the harmonious coexistence of man and nature has become the consensus of mankind. |
