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Jill Johansen

"Chinese Unicorn Zhi" by Jill Johansen

SF&F Picture 12 out of 68 by Jill Johansen
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SciFi and Fantasy Art Chinese Unicorn Zhi by Jill Johansen
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this is a project for my 2D design class. Gouache on Illustration Board.

Zhi was described as a magical one horned she goat (for lack of a better word) or unicorn, owned by Gao Yau, the Minister of Justice during the reign of the great Emperor Shun. Gau You, when in doubt of who was the guilty party during a trial, would call upon Zhi who would gouge the guilty person with her horn, leaving the innocent unharmed.
All this was a very long time ago indeed, the first pictorial evidence of the Unicorn Zhi dates back to around the 14th to 11th centuries B.C.E. This makes her the first unicorn to ever be described in any culture and is likely the legend from which all other unicorn legends arose. Each culture putting its own spin on the legend. Through all of them, the unicorn has stood for justice and purity, infact, the Chinese character for justice is 'zhi' originating from a pictograph of the animal, though with 2 horns, as it is believe that the Zhi unicorn originated from a 2 horned animal. People have debated over exactly which one, but the most likey candidate now seems ot be the the Sau-La (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). The deer like animal found in Viet Nam in 1992, being the first large mammal to be discovered and described by science in nearly 100 years.
the characters along the top are the evolution of the Chinese character for Zhi over the years, the far right being th modern one, the far left being from 11th to 14th century B.C.E.

this Drawing (minus the Chinese characters) has it's own online store! go check it out. get this design on T-Shirts, Mugs, Mousepads or whatever else your heart desires.




DateNameComment 
8 Nov 200445 Anonymous
This could be a pumpkin carving if one was so inclined.
31 Dec 2004:-) Stacey "SharpTattoos" Sharp
I love the form of this. It's so very flowing... 2
8 Jan 200545 Anonymous
I love the colour!
14 May 200545 Liquidsouls <bury_my_love@hot...com&
Amazing design and very original, i love how it all comes together, simple yet symbolic. I like the way you've presented how the chinese word for horse came to be from a picture to a word, brilliant.
26 Jun 200545 Anonymous
It was ugly
8 Jan 200645 A. Josephine Nordbĝ
This is really cool! Is's so simple, and that makes it so...cool!
8 Jan 200645 Gryffin
I think she goats are called nanny goats... Really like this, by the way!
Gryffin
17 Dec 200645 Barnstormer
Fluid Energy comes to mind!
9 Oct 2008:-) Désirée Dippenaar
Ooh, nice! I like the simplicity, and the shape! Excellent!
16 May 200945 Anon.
Jill, you really should acknowledge the source of your information which is my website www.Chinese-unicorn.com. You should also check for spelling errors in your work. Jeannie Thomas Parker

:-) Jill Johansen replies: "I’ve never been to that site. this picture was created/uploaded like, 8 years ago (check the first comments) and I haven’t altered the description since I uploaded it. According to Whois, your domain was registered in 2008. Mine came first. And you can’t copyright historical facts, anyway. "
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About 'Chinese Unicorn Zhi':
 • Status: OK
 • Created by: :-) Jill Johansen
 • Copyright: ©Jill Johansen. All rights reserved!

 • Keywords: Unicorn, Chinese, Zhi, Equine, Mythology, Myth, Asian, Oriental
 • Categories: Mythical Creatures & Assorted Monsters, Asian Traditions, Mythology
 • Techniques: Gouache
 • Views: 3966
 • Resolution: 351x360


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