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asakiyumeAll taxonomies are insane if you're not part of the culture that created them, and sometimes even if you are (US Census racial/ethnic categories are nuts, for instance). If you've ever tried to set up a taxonomy for anything, you realize it's harder than you might think. That said, Borges's classification of animals from the fictional Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge really plays up the craziness you can get in taxonomies. Here they are, courtesy of this very basic web page
The marvels of this are too many to enumerate, but the way it dances between multiple different types of categorization criteria is sublime and worthy of a long essay, or maybe a book by a fancy-pants French philosopher.
But what **I** want to do provide is potential examples for each of the types of animal. And so:
1. animals belonging to the Emperor
Since it's a [fictional] Chinese encyclopedia, I decided to limit myself to animals belonging to the Chinese emperor, and not, oh, say, to Queen Victoria. No doubt Chinese emperors owned all sorts of animals, but I wanted animals *specially linked* to the Chinese emperors, so I looked for symbols of the emperor, which offered me dragons and pheasants.
Detail of this 18th c. dragon robe in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
2. embalmed ones
Ancient Egyptian mummified falcon
(embalming is a step in mummification, so I feel that this counts)
Source: Wikipedia
3. those that are trained
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
4. suckling pigs
Source: Flickr
5. mermaids
Source: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
6. fabulous ones
This is a Qilin, "said to appear with the imminent arrival
or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler," according to Wikipedia.
Source: Wikipedia
7. stray dogs
(These were a couple of stray dogs we saw in Bogotá)
8. Those included in the present classification
Well then! Take your pick.
9. those that tremble as if they were mad
(well... I don't know about mad--but it trembles!)
10. innumerable ones
These are diatoms, photographed by B. Caissie. Probably they are numerable if someone wants to take the time to numerate them. But in the meantime, I will call them innumerable.
Source: diatoms.org
11. those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush
Detail of a screen by Mori Kansai, 1881
Source: Christies
12. others
Source: Wikipedia
13. those that have just broken a flower vase
Clearly a cat.
Source: kayevs.wordpress.com
14. those that from a long way off look like flies
This "reindeer cyclone" is a pretty amazing example:
So there you have it. Examples of animals for each category in Borges's Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, from his essay, "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins."
... I guess this entry will need a cut, huh.
1. those that belong to the Emperor,
2. embalmed ones,
3. those that are trained,
4. suckling pigs,
5. mermaids,
6. fabulous ones,
7. stray dogs,
8. those included in the present classification,
9. those that tremble as if they were mad,
10. innumerable ones,
11. those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush,
12. others,
13. those that have just broken a flower vase,
14. those that from a long way off look like flies.
The marvels of this are too many to enumerate, but the way it dances between multiple different types of categorization criteria is sublime and worthy of a long essay, or maybe a book by a fancy-pants French philosopher.
But what **I** want to do provide is potential examples for each of the types of animal. And so:
Since it's a [fictional] Chinese encyclopedia, I decided to limit myself to animals belonging to the Chinese emperor, and not, oh, say, to Queen Victoria. No doubt Chinese emperors owned all sorts of animals, but I wanted animals *specially linked* to the Chinese emperors, so I looked for symbols of the emperor, which offered me dragons and pheasants.
Detail of this 18th c. dragon robe in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
2. embalmed ones
Ancient Egyptian mummified falcon
(embalming is a step in mummification, so I feel that this counts)
Source: Wikipedia
3. those that are trained
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
4. suckling pigs
Source: Flickr
5. mermaids
Source: British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
6. fabulous ones
This is a Qilin, "said to appear with the imminent arrival
or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler," according to Wikipedia.
Source: Wikipedia
7. stray dogs
(These were a couple of stray dogs we saw in Bogotá)
8. Those included in the present classification
Well then! Take your pick.
9. those that tremble as if they were mad
(well... I don't know about mad--but it trembles!)
10. innumerable ones
These are diatoms, photographed by B. Caissie. Probably they are numerable if someone wants to take the time to numerate them. But in the meantime, I will call them innumerable.
Source: diatoms.org
11. those drawn with a very fine camelhair brush
Detail of a screen by Mori Kansai, 1881
Source: Christies
12. others
Source: Wikipedia
13. those that have just broken a flower vase
Clearly a cat.
Source: kayevs.wordpress.com
14. those that from a long way off look like flies
This "reindeer cyclone" is a pretty amazing example:
So there you have it. Examples of animals for each category in Borges's Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, from his essay, "The Analytical Language of John Wilkins."
... I guess this entry will need a cut, huh.
