We have heard that the ch'i-lin (1) is the greatest auspicious sign in All-under-Heaven. When the virtue of the Imperial Ruler above reaches the Great Purity, below reaches the Great Stillness, and in between reaches the Myriad Spirits, then a ch'i-lin appears. It is also said; when the virtue of the Ruler penetrates into the dark waters of chaos and his transforming influence reaches out to all living beings, then a ch'i-lin (1) appears. Therefore when a ch'i-lin comes forth it is certain that there is a Sage on the throne and that it is a time of true culture in the world; its repeated occurrence may surely not be attributed to mere chance. Respectfully we consider that the Son of Heaven, succeeding to the Great Heritage and regulating the Dependencies, models himself on Heaven in planning his government. By earnest and concentrated effort, dressing before dawn and not eating until sunset, he endeavors to effect order in the myriad concerns of Government. The fame of his benevolence and the reputation of his righteousness have spread far and near; his virtuous teachings reach and cover all, so that all the people and all the living beings harmoniously unite. Of the myriad countries at the four points of the compass, there is not one but submits and honors him. Here upon Heaven reflecting the Sacred Virtue, repeatedly causes brilliant favors to descend, so that in the year ten-and-seven (1419) all the felicitous objects are present in the greatest profusion and the clerks have no respire in recording them. In the 9th month, in the autumn, of the year chia-wu (2) of Yung-lo (3)(1414) there was a barbarian country from the South-west, called Bengal, presenting a ch'i-lin (1) as tribune. This year in the autumn again there is the country called Aden presenting a ch'i-lin as tribute. In the course of five or six years a ch'i-lin arriving in the capital three times is a brilliant manifestation which shakes and illuminates the Middle Kingdom and foreign nations; truly it is a supreme omen of Great Peace that would have been welcomed by a thousand, yea a myriad ages. Formerly when the Way of Government of the Emperor was lofty and his virtue abundant, a ch'i-lin (1) only appeared in his park; although the songs of Chou-nan (4) celebrated (the Ch'i-lin) its genuine descent was not witnessed. Coming to the Han (5) and the Tang (6) dynasties it became rarer and rarer till it was no longer heard of. Now the Sacred Son of Heaven in his Virtue equals Ch'ung-hua (7), (the emperor Shun) the height of his achievements has been but rarely reached in antiquity, his abundant blessings and profound benevolence have left no place unaffected, so that this favorable sign of the appearance of a ch'i-lin (1) is repeated over and over again. Indeed, the fact that High Heaven by means of this manifestation of the Sacred Virtue causes the transforming Influence of the Ruler to reach its highest fruition is truly a cause of felicity for the Imperial Ancestors and the Altar of the Soil, as well as for the living people, for ten thousand generations without end.
Your servant, joining the throng in the Forbidden Forest (the Zoo) has daily beheld this auspicious omen; he could not master his feelings of admiration and happiness, and therefore has written praise in order to transmit it for ever. Respectfully with hands folded and prostrating himself he presents a song of praise as follows;
Amazing is this gentle animal,

of strange shape and wonderful form,

the product of the Two Forms,

the essence emanated from the Dark Void.

Its dragon head is carried high,

its fleshy horn grows erect;

it has purple hair with white lines

criss-cross in a pattern of a tortoise-shell.

Its body is glossy and its conduct is measured.
It has hoofs but does not kick,

-it truly follows the way of gentleness.

It has horns but does not but,

-it truly keeps to the way of righteousness.

It walks with balanced tread

and its voice resembles classic music.

It does not step on growing grass

nor does it eat living beings.

It takes advantage of the transformations of the four seasons

and never fails to announce them by its cries.
This is called the ch'i-lin. (1)

Its appearance is manifested by Heaven,

it arrives at its proper time,

neither too late nor too early,

as a guest from a myriad li away,

now walking, then galloping.

Its brilliant luster shines in the ether,

and felicitous clouds hang down.

Its two eyes rove incessantly;

all are delighted with it.

Wide open is the Reception Hall,

where (the Emperor) sits down to receive it.
Oh; Our Emperor plans his government

by modeling himself on Heaven;

the fame of his teaching has spread;

the East is impregnated with it

and the West has received it.

There is no darkness but is brightened,

there is no distance but is illuminated.

From where the waters gather and the clouds assemble,

bowing their heads bear gifts.

Thus many auspicious gifts are collected,

arriving one after another in pairs.

How comes this?

- Only through the Perfect Virtue (jen) of the Emperor.

Only through the Perfect Virtue of Our Emperor,

which brings harmony in the eight corners of the world;

beyond the horizon and to the ends of the earth

there are none but are respectful and loving.

Truly the Emperor is humble and reverent;

were he not a Sage himself,

no beings, however precious,

could assist in creating a virtuous (jen) government.

Truly the Emperor has received from Heaven

a great Mandate which is widely manifested.

May the Sacred Age be ten thousand years,

to the happiness of the Four Regions.                                            

When the Bengal giraffe had arrived the Emperor had refused to accept congratulations:
" Even without unicorns there is nothing that hinders good government"
When the second giraffe arrived: " It behooves Us even more than in the past to cling to virtue, and it behooves you to remonstrate with Us about Our shortcomings"

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Jin Youzi 金幼孜:Jin Wenjing ji 金文靖集(1368-1431)

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Taken from: https://www.kanripo.org/text/KR4e0094/006

                      http://www.mychistory.com/1-1310/

Rui ying qilin ode (8)

When a minister praises a sovereign the most holy virtue, and then there will be a rule of supreme prosperity, the rule of the Most

Holy, and the great emblem. This sense should be, both in one heart of the sincere, non-human caused, but since the Qin Emperor (9)

built in the highest goal, the rule of law to rule of the day, the grand Honghua, Tan cum, the harmony, Jiaying stacked Zhen. In the

thirteenth year of Youngle in autumn from the country of Ma-lin (10) in the south west a Kirin (1) was offered to China

臣聞人君治者,則必有至聖之德者,則必有至盛之治,有至聖之治者,有至大之徽。此感彼應、皆本於一心之誠,非人力所致,而自至者。

欽惟皇上建中垂統、法天敷治、恢弘鴻化、覃暨無外、和氣融朗、嘉應疊臻。乃永樂十有三年秋九月壬寅,西南夷有曰麻林國者、

以麒麟來獻。

….and in autumn the country of Bang-ge-ci 榜葛刺國(Bengal) from the southwest brought a Kirin as tribute and the next year

the country of Ma-lin (10) 麻林國 brought a Kirin (1) and one was brought from Aden; so the total tribute to the country in 5-6 years included 3 kirin….(very much the poem as given above)

Lion tribute

Towards the throne of the emperor…..the Mugu-dou-shu (Mogadishu) country 木骨都束國 sent a tribute lion that is more a monster than a lion with its copper shaped iron claws and chisel-teeth …..and artworks from tens of thousands of miles away brought by the embassy…..

Jin Youzi: (Poem on the Ostrich) (1419)

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Taken from: The true dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions …. By Duyvendak.

This poem came to us through the: Congjian Yan: Shu yu zhou zi lu

In the year chi- hai (11) of Yung-lo (3), in the autumn, the 8^th month, on a lucky day, there were countries from the South-west,

which presented (to the emperor) strange birds….

(should be 17^th year of Yung-lo (3); presented by Hormuz).

….All of them, craning their necks looked on with pleasure, and stamping their feet they were scared and startled, thinking

that these were things that were rarely heard of in the world and that China had never seen their likeness.

Jin Youzi: Zeng Zhouzi Xuan hai jishui xu (Preface to Zhou Zixuan Returning Good Fortune) 《赠周子宣还吉水序》
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Taken from: http://www.bjshkx.net/article/2020/1208/1002-3054-2020-9-114.html

Political Power& Visual Spectacle: a Reassessment of Kirin Coming to China through the Zheng He's Navigation by MAO Rui

Zhou Zixuan, a native of Ji’an, Jiangxi, visited the southern and northern (new and old) Beijing as a commoner around the 17th year of Yongle (1419). When he returned to his hometown, Jin Youzi, a scholar of Hanlin who was a close minister of Ming Chengzu, made an article "Preface to Zhou Zixuan Returning Good Fortune " as Zhou Zixuan's hometown and family friend. Implied in the text:

The time of life alternates between Heaven and people, Beijing recommends well-being,

Auspicious light from a candle of Heaven, clouds hold the sunrise,

white-black property is produced in Beijing, Kylin comes from the outer seas,

white elephant tribute from Cochin (12), the Heavenly Horse is present in the wet swamp,

a living star is present in the deep south, fine grain came from around the imperial domain,

all the blessings come to life.

Zi Xuan traveled to the two capitals fortunately to witness its victory.

People who thought they were never seen before, now they see them.

What was unheard of in the past is heard now.

How lucky is Zixuan to go in the void and return to the reality.

维时天人交替，百灵荐祉，祥光烛霄，卿云捧日，白乌产于京府，麒麟来自海外，白象贡于交趾，天马呈于渥洼，寿星现于南极，嘉禾出于畿甸，诸福之来不可殚纪。子宣遨游两京幸目睹其胜。以为昔之所未见者，今则见之矣。昔之所未闻者，今则闻之矣。虚而往，实而归，子宣亦何其幸哉。

(1) ch'i-lin: or Kirin, Qirin; giraffe

(2) year chia-wu: the Chinese did not count in periods of 100 years but in periods of 60 years. Then it starts over. Every year has its own name; so every 60 year that name is repeated. They do not start in (0 AD) but the 45^th cycle starts in (4 AD).

The cyclical year chia-wu is the 31 sign. So it will start in 4+30 = 34 AD and will come back every 60 years: 34-94-154-214-274 etc. They do not mention the amount of cycles that have past. Instead they add the name of the Emperor in that year and how many years he had already reigned.

This system of dating is found in: Oriental ceramic art by William Thompson Walters p54-55.

https://archive.org/details/ost-art-orientalceramica00walt/page/n73/mode/2up

(3) Yung-lo: : The Yongle Emperor — personal name Zhu Di, or Chu Ti— was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.

(4) songs of Chou-nan: the songs of Chou-nan and Shao-nan, identified as a southern region that is elsewhere deprecated as barbaric, are older then all others.

(5) Han dynasty: the Western Han (202 BC–9 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD).

(6) Tang dynasties: was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907.

(7) Ch'ung-hua, (the emperor Shun): Emperor Shun was a legendary leader of ancient. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC.

(8) Rui ying qilin ode: Auspicious Omen Qi-lin painting.

(9) Qin Emperor: Qin Shi Huang was the founder of the Qin dynasty, and first emperor of a unified China. From 247 to 221 BC he was Zheng, King of Qin. He became China's first emperor when he was 38 after the Qin had conquered all of the other Warring States and unified all of China in 221 BC.

(10) Ma-lin: Malindi in Kenya

(11) year chi- hai of Yung-lo: Chi Hai 己亥

The Chinese did not count in periods of 100 years but in periods of 60 years. Then it starts over. Every year has its own name; so every 60 year that name is repeated. They do not start in (0 AD) but the 45th cycle starts in (4 AD).

The cyclical year chi-hai is the 36 sign. So it will start in 4+35 = 39 AD and will come back every 60 years: 39-99-159-219-279 etc. They do not mention the amount of cycles that have past. Instead they add the name of the Emperor in that year and how many years he had already reigned. Here the event mentioned took place in: 1419 (the beginning of the cycle is 1384+ 35 = 1419.

This system of dating is found in: Oriental ceramic art by William Thompson Walters p54-55.

https://archive.org/details/ost-art-orientalceramica00walt/page/n73/mode/2up

(12) Cochin: coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China.