No. 004
Haetae
해태 (haetae)
An imaginary beast said to know right from wrong and good from evil. It resembles a lion with a single horn in the middle of its head. Seen as a guardian of justice, it became an emblem of judges, and as a beast that wards off fire and disaster it decorates palace buildings.
Names
- Korean
- 해태
- Hanja
- No hanja attested in a source
- Revised Romanization
- haetae
- English
- Haetae
Appearance
Lion-like, with one horn in the middle of its head. On embroidered rank badges it has an antler-like horn, a mane, a wide-open mouth and long hair at the tip of its tail.
Abilities
- According to the Chinese text Yiwuzhi, it gores whichever party in a quarrel is in the wrong.
- Was believed to ward off fire and calamity.
Other names
- 해치 - The Sino-Korean name, written 獬豸. (Source: Encyclopedia of Korean Culture)
Attestations
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Encyclopedia of Korean Culture Encyclopedia
What it says: The haetae article: definition, appearance, the judge's cap and the inspector-general's rank badge, and its role as a fire-warding beast on palace buildings (Gwanghwamun, Geunjeongjeon).
Interpretation and notes
Reading the haetae on Geunjeongjeon's roof ridge as a prayer for the king's impartiality is, in the encyclopedia's own words, a conjecture.