This is my first posting, but I have been following Juuni Kokki since the first fansubs started coming out. Even though there is precious little hope of the series continuing any time soon, I decided to jot down some information about the references that it makes to traditional Chinese institutions and myths. I suppose that many of these references were expected to be clear for the Japanese readers of the novels, feudal Japan having been a tributary of imperial China (Note: the characters for Tokyo mean “eastern capital” in Chinese, while Beijing is the “northern capital” and Nanjing the “southern capital”).
I am by no means an expert and I would be happy if my comments incite someone better informed than me to respond.
Cheers,
Rong
The Kirin
The model for the JK Kirin is the Chinese “Qilin” (in Mandarin pinyin) or Kylin in English (a good word to remember when playing Scrabble!). The kylin is described as a “fabulous female creature, symbol of the good, made up of parts from other creatures of good omen: she has the body of a deer, an ox’s tail, a single horn, a horse’s hooves, a fish’s scales”. The Kirin in JK keeps the virtuous personality of the kylin, but has abandoned some of its more exotic physical features in favor of an image much closer to the Western unicorn. As a side note, I should point out that the unicorn was also originally a composite creature (with the tail of a lion and the head of a goat, among other things), however this was sacrificed in the name of esthetics, leaving us with the horse with a horn that we are used to.
To my knowledge, the Kylin of traditional China was not vested with the responsibility of choosing the Emperor. However, the king-making powers of JK’s Kirin are not totally unfounded in Chinese mythology. Over the centuries, several rebel groups and claimants to the Chinese imperial throne tried to strengthen their positions by associating themselves with the Kylin. As an example, Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Rebellion (a pseudo-Christian sect that ravaged much of central China during the 1850s and almost overthrew the Qing dynasty) exhorted his followers to chant this poem from the Confucian Odes. It associates the members of the Chinese ruler’s family (in this case Hong’ progeny) with different parts of the Kylin’s body (“Lin” being another way to call it in Chinese):
The feet of the Lin –
The noble son of our Prince,
Ah, they are the Lin.
The forehead of the Lin –
The noble grandsons of our prince
Ah, they are the Lin.
The horn of the Lin –
The noble kindred of our Prince,
Ah they are the Lin.
Why specifically these references to the Kylin? The feet are mentioned because the Kylin walks with such a light tread that she does not harm any living thing, even grass. As for the Kylin’s horn, it is supposedly tipped with flesh; therefore, while she can fight, she will always prefer the way of peace. Sound familiar? It should. This seems to be the source of our Kirins’ hatred for bloodshed. I am sure that deeper research could turn up many more such parallels between the mythical Kylin and the JK kirin.
The Heavenly Mandate
The Kylin’s virtuous connotations do not completely explain JK’s use of the Kirin as the key to the throne. Here, the author combined the Kylin with another Chinese myth, that of the emperor’s “heavenly mandate”. All Chinese emperors were supposed to rule in accordance with a contract that they concluded with the Heavens. As long as they sustained proper (Confucian) values within the empire, they were vested with heaven-sent authority and nobody could unseat them. This again should sound very familiar. JK adds a pact of immortality to the deal, but the basic concept remains the same. In fact, in China, like in the JK world, if the emperor forgot his side of the bargain he ran the risk of losing his right to rule.
Various bad omens helped to tell whether the emperor was losing his grip, the equivalent of JK’s Shitsudou. For example, after the Chinese armies suffered a humiliating defeat from British forces during the 1840s Opium War, many of the discontented suggested that the Qing dynasty has lost its heavenly mandate, a contention that may help explain the many rebellions that followed. Obviously, things were not as orderly in China as they are in JK. With no Kirin to clearly identify the legitimate emperor, you could have several rebels leaders all claiming a divine mandate at the same time. Gi-ou’s use of Keiki to back up her illegitimate rule presents us with an analogous situation.
Since I have been writing about the emperor, I might as well mention a few interesting similarities between Chinese and JK bureaucracy. First, the titles of Youko’s various ministers are very much in keeping with those used at the Chinese imperial court. Similarly, the internal structure of the twelve kingdoms follows the basic Chinese model of Provinces and Prefectures, each level with its own army (the imperial force being the best). A detail that I particularly appreciated was the fact that the Shu-on rebels flee into a neighbouring province after several of their attacks on the Shoukou’s forces. It was a well know weakness of the Chinese imperial administration that there was little coordination between provincial governments. There are countless examples in Chinese history of bandits settling on provincial borders, secure in the knowledge that they could cross to the other side if pursued. It was very rare for two provincial governors to admit their weakness and cooperate with each other.
It is also interesting to note that the responsibilities of the emperor, as explained to Youko, are quite similar to the main tasks of the Chinese rulers: i.e. maintain the army to protect the citizens from disorder and maintain the dikes to protect them from floods. In China, the emperor also had to stock grain in case there is a bad harvest, but this was not supposed to happen as long as the Heavens were satisfied! Poorly maintained dikes were a constant problem along China’s Yellow River. It was one of the sources of the Nian rebellion of the mid-19th century, in which one prominent rebel leader claimed for himself the divine mandate that the emperor had neglected to fulfil.
The Division of Land
In case you don’t remember the elaborate explanation that Youko gets about the JK world’s division of agricultural land, here is the definition of a Sei provided in the “Anime Notes”:
Nine 100x100 pu fields make up one sei. The one sei is granted to eight families, thus creating a village. The nine 100x100 pu fields are basically in a 3x3 grid. The center field is used by all the families. 20% of the center is split up into 8 250 square pu of space. 200 pu is used for personal farmland, which feeds a whole family. The other 50 pu is used for housing, which is big enough for two people. The other 80% of the center pu land is used for cultivation. During the summer, the families live in these villages, but during the winter, they live in the city.
This division bear a striking resemblance to the ideal land division of Confucius’ greatest disciple Mencius (born in 371 BC). When advising a Chinese nobleman about the way to settle his subjects, he gives the following suggestion:
A square lî covers nine squares of land, which nine squares contain nine hundred mâu. The central square is the public field, and eight families, each having its private hundred mâu, cultivate in common the public field. And not till the public work is finished, may they presume to attend to their private affairs. This is the way by which the country-men are distinguished from those of a superior grade.
As you can see, the 9x9 grid model has been around for a long time. Mencius explains the way that people sharing this land are supposed to interact. It is in keeping with the JK world.
On occasions of death, or removal from one dwelling to another, there will be no quitting the district. In the fields of a district, those who belong to the same nine squares render all friendly offices to one another in their going out and coming in, aid one another in keeping watch and ward, and sustain one another in sickness. Thus the people are brought to live in affection and harmony.
Traditional China and JK: Parallels
Moderator: zitch
Good post, this is pretty much accurate from what I know of Chinese folklore, too; there is also a story concerning a chi-lin prophesizing Confucius's birth. Chinese chi-lin have never been involved in choosing an emperor, but have been connected to the emperor in other ways (IIRC, the appearance of a chi-lin during an emperor's reign was basically a great omen). The chimeric image is also very different, like you said; I was a bit annoyed that the kirin in 12K looked like a western unicorn, but in truth the traditional Chinese images I'm familiar with aren't particularly pretty to my eyes either. 
From what I gather from online reading, the Japanese also have some role for the chi-lin, but not related to emperors at all.
What I tended to notice in detail was the clothing; the styles are accurate, from what I can tell, but the thing that stuck out to me the most was the pointy-up shoes that En Ou wears. I don't recall if these are accurate or not, but I wouldn't be surprised since there were very variable fashions in every dynasty.
From what I gather from online reading, the Japanese also have some role for the chi-lin, but not related to emperors at all. What I tended to notice in detail was the clothing; the styles are accurate, from what I can tell, but the thing that stuck out to me the most was the pointy-up shoes that En Ou wears. I don't recall if these are accurate or not, but I wouldn't be surprised since there were very variable fashions in every dynasty.
p.s. - other reading:
http://nothingistic.org/library/mencius/mencius09.html (The Works of Mencius)
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/s ... oShih.html (Book of Odes - huge document, includes Chinese)
http://nothingistic.org/library/mencius/mencius09.html (The Works of Mencius)
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/chinese/s ... oShih.html (Book of Odes - huge document, includes Chinese)
Re: Traditional China and JK: Parallels
Thank you very much for the explanation. It's always interesting to hear about the inspirations for this show's mythology.
I think I'll save this thread, too, just in case.
I think I'll save this thread, too, just in case.
Parallels explained
Many thanks from the ignorant masses. This is the type of discussion that helps keep newbies coming back for more. Maybe a forum for JK text/anime explanations from history/myth would be good for new arrivals still trickling in.Rong En-Lin
Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:09 pm Post subject: Traditional China and JK: Parallels
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... I decided to jot down some information about the references that it makes to traditional Chinese institutions and myths.
< When you choose one way out of many, all the ways you don't take are snuffed out like candles, as if they'd never existed. >
Kirin beer has actually been quite popular in Japan for a long time, quite well known.
http://www.kirin.com/
http://www.kirin.com/Kirinology/corporate.html
http://www.kirin.com/
http://www.kirin.com/Kirinology/corporate.html