# 狻猊
## Chinese

* 狻猊

### Etymology

The (legendary) beast was mentioned in the ancient Chinese glossary Erya as 狻麑, a "devourer of tigers and leopards". It was also attested in the Mu Tianzi Zhuan (nominally from the Warring States period; however the textual history of the book was problematic). If correctly identified as a legendary account of the lion as later texts do, it may be a (partial) borrowing, possibly from a historical Iranian or Indo-Iranian language.
The use of 狻猊 (OC *swar ŋe) possibly predates that of 獅 (OC *sri, “lion”). Compare Proto-Indo-Iranian *sinȷ́ʰás (“lion”), Proto-Iranian *cárguš.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): suānní
    (Zhuyin): ㄙㄨㄢ ㄋㄧˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): syun$^1$ ngai$^4$
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): soan-gê
    (Teochew, Peng'im): suêng$^1$ ngi$^5$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: suānní
*** Zhuyin: ㄙㄨㄢ ㄋㄧˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: suanní
*** Wade–Giles: suan$^1$-ni$^2$
*** Yale: swān-ní
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: suanni
*** Palladius: суаньни (suanʹni)
*** Sinological IPA : /su̯än⁵⁵ ni³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: syun$^1$ ngai$^4$
*** Yale: syūn ngàih
*** Cantonese Pinyin: syn$^1$ ngai$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: xun$^1$ ngei$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /syːn⁵⁵ ŋɐi̯²¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: soan-gê
*** Tâi-lô: suan-gê
*** Phofsit Daibuun: soan'gee
*** IPA (Xiamen): /suan⁴⁴⁻²² ɡe²⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /suan³³ ɡe²⁴/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /suan⁴⁴⁻²² ɡe¹³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /suan⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡe²⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /suan⁴⁴⁻³³ ɡe²³/
** (Teochew)
*** Peng'im: suêng$^1$ ngi$^5$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sueng ngî
*** Sinological IPA : /sueŋ³³⁻²³ ŋi⁵⁵/
* Middle Chinese: swan ngej
Rime :
| Character | 狻 | 猊 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 心 (16) | 疑 (31) |
| Final (韻) | 桓 (62) | 齊 (39) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Closed | Open |
| Division (等) | I | IV |
| Fanqie | 素官切 | 五稽切 |
| Baxter | swan | ngej |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /suɑn/ | /ŋei/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /sʷɑn/ | /ŋei/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /suɑn/ | /ŋɛi/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /swan/ | /ŋɛj/ |
| Li Rong | /suɑn/ | /ŋei/ |
| Wang Li | /suɑn/ | /ŋiei/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /suɑn/ | /ŋiei/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | suān | yí |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | syun$^1$ | ngai$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Zhengzhang): /*sloːn ŋeː/
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 狻 | 猊 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 16435 | 2744 |
| Phonetic component | 允 | 兒 |
| Rime group | 元 | 支 |
| Rime subdivision | 3 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 酸 | 倪 |
| Old Chinese | /*sloːn/ | /*ŋeː/ |

### Noun

狻猊
* (archaic) lion
    From: Erya, 5th – 2nd century BCE
    Suānní, rú zhànmāo, shí hǔbào. [Pinyin]
    The lions look like light(-haired) cats; they eat tigers and leopards.
    From: The Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven, c. 370 – 330 BCE
    Suānní □ yěmǎ zǒu wǔbǎi lǐ. [Pinyin]
    Lions [and?] wild horses run 500 li [a day].
* (Chinese mythology) mythological creature which is said to be a hybrid of lion and dragon, one of the nine sons of the dragon; said to either like to smoke and decorate incense burners, or like to sit down and decorate the thrones of Buddha statues

#### Coordinate terms

* ("sons of the dragon", creatures found in decorations): 贔屭／赑屃 (bìxì), 霸下 (bàxià), 𧈢𧏡 (bàxià), 螭虎, 饕餮 (tāotiè), 蜥蜴 (xīyì), 睚眥／睚眦 (yázì), 鴟吻／鸱吻 (chīwěn), 虭蛥, 嘲風／嘲风, 蒲牢 (púláo), 狴犴 (bì'àn), 椒圖／椒图, 金吾 (jīnwú), 囚牛 (qiúniú)

### Further reading

* Behr, Wolfgang. "Hinc sunt leones – two ancient Eurasian migratory terms in Chinese revisited (I-II)". International Jour­nal of Central Asian Studies. Volume 9, 2004, pp. 1-25; Volume 10, 2005, pp. 1-22.

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 狻 | 猊 |
| さん Hyōgai | げい Hyōgai |
| kan'on ||
Kanji in this term :
| 狻 | 猊 |
| しゅん Hyōgai | げい Hyōgai |
| kan'on ||

### Etymology

Literary Chinese 狻猊 (suānní)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [sã̠ŋɡe̞ː]
* (Tokyo) しゅんげー [shùńgéé] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [ɕɨ̃ŋɡe̞ː]

### Noun

狻(さん)猊(げい) or 狻(しゅん)猊(げい) • (sangei or shungei)
* (Chinese mythology) a suanni, a cross between a dragon and a lion
* (loosely, rare) Synonym of 獅子 (shishi, “lion”)

### Proper noun

狻(さん)猊(げい) or 狻(しゅん)猊(げい) • (Sangei or Shungei)
* (Chinese mythology) the suanni that was one of the nine sons of the dragon

### See also

* 猊(げい)下(か) (geika)
* 猊(げい)座(ざ) (geiza)