Note 682 — CLIX. THE ELEPHANTS AND THE LION.

The term here used refers to a creature which partakes rather of the fabulous than of the real. The Kuang-yün says it is “a kind of lion;” but other authorities describe it as a horse. Its favourite food is tiger-flesh. Incense-burners are often made after the “lion” pattern and called by this name, the smoke of the incense issuing from the mouth of the animal, like our own gargoyles. return to text