Daoism Monkeys in Chinese culture
guanyin, gibbon, , crane scrolls, muqi fachang, 13th century
another animal associated longevity 鶴 crane , long neck , legs supposedly enabled bird absorb qi , live thousand years. pair of yuanhe 猿鶴 gibbon , crane , both of famous graceful movements, became literary , artistic trope long life . (624) yiwen leiju encyclopedia quotes baopuzi story, not found in received text, king mu of zhou (r. 976-922 bce). when king mu of [zhou] dynasty made expedition south, entire (routed) army transformed. gentlemen [君子] among troops changed gibbons or cranes, small men [小人] insects or grains of sand. (tr. van gulik 1967:39), noting quoted passage sets gibbon gentleman among primates – position has kept till present day.
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