Xiezhi
| Xiezhi | |||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | giải trãi | ||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||
| Hangul | 해태 | ||||||||||
| Hanja | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||
| Kanji | 獬豸 | ||||||||||
| Hiragana | かいち | ||||||||||
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| Part of a series on |
| Chinese folk religion |
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The xiezhi (獬豸; xièzhì < Eastern Han Chinese *gɛʔ-ḍɛʔ) is a mythical creature of Chinese origin found throughout Sinospheric legends. It resembles an ox or goat, with thick dark fur covering its body, bright eyes and a single long horn on its forehead. It has great intellect and understands human speech. The xiezhi possesses the innate ability to distinguish right from wrong and when it finds corrupt officials, it will ram them with its horn and devour them. It is known as a symbol of justice.