Giraffe from a Japanese book (19th century)
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Li Shi: Hsu Po Wu Chih (Supplement to the Record of the Investigation of Things)
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Li Shi: Hsu Po Wu Chih (Supplement to the Record of the Investigation of Things)
(mid 12th century)
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Taken from: Laufer Berthold; The Giraffe in History and Art.
The country Po-pa-li (Berbera) harbors a strange animal called camel-ox (t'o niu). Its skin is like that of a leopard, its hoof is similar to that of an ox, but the animal is devoid of a hump. Its neck is nine feet long, and its body is over ten feet high.
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Taken from: Laufer Berthold; The Giraffe in History and Art.
The country Po-pa-li (Berbera) harbors a strange animal called camel-ox (t'o niu). Its skin is like that of a leopard, its hoof is similar to that of an ox, but the animal is devoid of a hump. Its neck is nine feet long, and its body is over ten feet high.
撥拔力國有異獸、名駞牛。皮似豹，蹄類牛，無峯項，長九尺，身高一丈餘。
Note: He is the fourth Chinese author to mention the giraffe. After Bai Juyi (846); Xing Bing (1010); and Yang Xiu and Song Qi (1066).
The text in the manuscript.