2015-02-03

Rhino

So the Zhonghua Da Zidian 中華大字典 is available in its entirety on archive.org. This might be of interest even to those not committed enough to Chinese to read a dictionary from 1915, if only because of the many fine color plates at the beginning of the first volume illustrating some of the words for plants, birds, body parts, and so on.

The one for "animals" includes this distinguished example of I've-only-ever-heard-this-animal-described-but-I'm-going-to-draw-it-anyway (or possibly of this-is-how-we've-always-drawn-this-animal-and-I'll-be-damned-if-I-let-the-facts-get-in-the-way):

Yep, it's a rhinoceros.

Popularity factor: 3

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Carl:

According to the dictionary, humans wear boxers when you see them from the front, but not from behind. Very mysterious.

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Avery:

This is clearly an inferior kind of dictionary.

一、we all know what a rhino looks like from the woodcut of Dürer, and it looks nothing like this.

一、there are a paltry four columns to explain all the meanings of 子.

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Matt:

Yeah, this illustrator didn't even get the rivetwork in.

Actually looking at it more closely, with the right side of the brain and so on, I realize that this probably WAS based on a picture or pictures -- it's just that they misunderstood nostrils as eye sockets...

Aime la vérité, mais pardonne à l'erreur

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