(Draft of a section for Giant Panda)

Although the pre-modern Chinese literature does not seem to contain unambiguous references to giant pandas, the creature named mo (貘) mentioned in some ancient books has been thought by a number of modern authors to be the giant panda.^[1] The dictionary Shuowen Jiezi (Eastern Han Dynasty) says that the mo, from Shu (today's Sichuan), is bear-like, but yellow-and-black.^[2] The older Erya dictionary describes mo simply as a "white panther" (baibao);^[3] but Guo Pu (276–324) in his commentary on the Erya tells that mo is a different beast from the baibao (white painter). According to Guo Pu, the mo is a black-and-white bear-like creature that likes to lick and eat copper and iron, as well as bamboo.^[4] In connection with the mo, the Song-era commentator on the Erya Xing Bing (邢昺; 931-1010), also notes that the Shenyijing (Scripture of divine marvels) mentions a southern animal called nietie 齧鐵 "bite iron" with (iron-hard) feces that can be made into military weapons, and black shiny hair. ^[5]

Bernard Read, however, thought the mo to be the Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), which is also black and white, and which in ancient times occurred in Sichuan.^[6]

he Erya definitions are:

• "Mo 貘 "tapir; panther" is baibao 白豹 "white panther"." Guo Pu's commentary gives this 似熊小頭痹脚黑白駁… explanation and notes the baibao is white and different from the mo. Xing Bing's sub-commentary quotes the Shuowen definition of mo as resembling a yellow and black bear and coming from Shu (state), the Jingdian shiwen quote says white and black. Xing also quotes the Shenyijing 神異經 (not Shanhaijing) recording a southern animal called nietie 齧鐵 "bite iron" with (iron-hard) feces that can be made into military weapons, black shiny hair,… Bernard Read's Chinese Materia Medica, Animal Drugs (1932, no. 353) identifies mo or baibao as Malayan Tapir (modern 馬来貘) and notes (353a) nietie is "A southern species. The size of water buffalo, black and shiny. The feces are as hard as iron. One animal was recorded 7 feet high which could travel 300 li a day." Do you have access to Read's book?

“似熊、小头、痹脚、黑白驳,能舐食铜铁及竹骨。”

The interpretation of the legendary fierce creature pixiu (貔貅) as referring to the giant panda are also common.^[7]

In the past, pandas were thought to be rare and noble creatures – the mother of Emperor Wen of Han was buried with a panda skull in her vault. The grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang is said to have given Japan two pandas and a sheet of panda skin as a sign of goodwill. Unlike many other animals in Ancient China, pandas were rarely thought to have medical uses. The few known uses include the Sichuan tribal peoples' use of panda urine to melt accidentally swallowed needles, and the use of panda pelts to control menses as described in the Qin Dynasty encyclopedia Erya.^[8]

The comparative obscurity of the giant panda throughout most of China's history is illustrated by the fact that, despite there being a number of depictions of bears in Chinese art starting from its most ancient times, and the bamboo being one of the favorite subjects for Chinese painters, there are no known pre-20th-century artistic representations of giant pandas.^[9]

A number of sources (e.g. Shaller (1993), p. 61, or 食铁兽) say that the Erya mentions the giant panda (presumably, as either the mo 貘 or the pi[xiu] 貔[貅]). In particular, 食铁兽 even gives a quote, supposedly from the Erya (chapter 释兽), about the creature's appearance and the proclivity to eat copper and iron in addition to bamboo: “似熊、小头、痹脚、黑白驳,能舐食铜铁及竹骨。”

Now, the thing is that the text of that chapter, neither on WikiSource (s:zh:爾雅), nor elsewhere, contains no text like this - in fact, it hardly has any sentences that long; all they have to say about these 2 creatures is:

• 貘，白豹。(Mo, a white leopard)
• 貔，白狐。其子豰，麝父𢋵足。(Pi, white fox; and then says something about its relation to some tiger/leopard like creature, and a musk deer).

Similarly, Historical Records in Ancient China claims that "[in the] Book of Mountains and Seas, ... , the Giant Panda is described as such: with white and black fur, it looks like bear; and found in Yandao County of Qionglai Mountain (the present Rongjing County, Sichuan Province), Giant Pandas were named Iron-eating Animal because it was said that it eats metals."

The Erya definitions are:

• "Mo 貘 "tapir; panther" is baibao 白豹 "white panther"." Guo Pu's commentary gives this 似熊小頭痹脚黑白駁… explanation and notes the baibao is white and different from the mo. Xing Bing's sub-commentary quotes the Shuowen definition of mo as resembling a yellow and black bear and coming from Shu (state), the Jingdian shiwen quote says white and black. Xing also quotes the Shenyijing 神異經 (not Shanhaijing) recording a southern animal called nietie 齧鐵 "bite iron" with (iron-hard) feces that can be made into military weapons, black shiny hair,… Bernard Read's Chinese Materia Medica, Animal Drugs (1932, no. 353) identifies mo or baibao as Malayan Tapir (modern 馬来貘) and notes (353a) nietie is "A southern species. The size of water buffalo, black and shiny. The feces are as hard as iron. One animal was recorded 7 feet high which could travel 300 li a day." Do you have access to Read's book?
• "Pi 貔 is baihu 白狐 "white fox", its young is called hu 豰." [This 麝父𢋵足 is the following "musk-deer" definition.] Guo notes another name of zhiyi 執夷 and identifies it as a kind of hu 虎 "tiger" or bao 豹 "panther; leopard". Xing mentions the pixiu 貔貅 "a mythical animal" (cf. 辟邪?), which differs from this pi "(not white) fox".

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plenty more (often) mis-attributed quotes:

我国古代的历史记载 ("Records [about pandas] in our country's ancient history")

http://www.yatsen.gov.tw/chinese/publication/show.php?url=%2Fchinese%2Fpublication%2Findex.php%3F&id=639

• Lumpkin, Susan; Seidensticker, John (2007), Giant Pandas, London: Collins, ISBN 0-06-120578-8 (An earlier edition is available as The Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas, Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002, ISBN 1-56098-038-4 {{isbn}}: Check isbn value: checksum (help).)
• Schaller, George B. (1993), The Last Panda, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226736288 (There are also several later reprints)