When we came back home, Mood told me a story she read about the Kirin ... (in a book called Tales of the Otori :Le Clan des Otori)
The Kirin is a mythical hooved Japanese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings serenity and prosperity. And you know what ??? It is identified with the giraffe !!!
So as I was very interested in this story, we search on the internet and here is what we found :
It is known that on Zheng He's voyage to East Africa (landing, among other places, in modern-day Kenya), the fleet brought back two giraffes to Beijing. It is also known that these two giraffes were referred to as "Qilins". The Emperor proclaimed the giraffes magical creatures, whose capture signalled the greatness of his power.
The identification between the Qilin and the giraffe is supported by some attributes of the Qilin, including its vegetarian and quiet nature. Its reputed ability to "walk on grass without disturbing it" may be related to the giraffe's long legs.
héhéhé!!! Bertold was amazed when I told him about it !!!