Kylin: An Auspicious Legacy in Modern Design

龙首、麋身、牛尾、马蹄。

A dragon's head, an elk's body, a bull's tail and a horse's hoof.

口吐火，声似雷。

They breathe fire, and roar like thunder.

公兽为麒，母兽为麟。

The male is called qi, and the female is named lin.    

不折草木，不伤生灵。

They neither break vegetation nor hurt creatures.

含仁怀义，德才兼备。

They are benevolent and righteous, with both virtue and talent.

八方来福，吉祥太平。

They symbolize fortune from all directions, auspiciousness and peace.

麒麟，吉祥神宠，主太平、长寿。

Kylin, an auspicious divine pet, indicates peace and longevity

装配麒麟饰品是中国自古以来的传统。

It is a tradition to wear kylin ornaments in China since ancient times.

婴幼儿佩戴"麒麟锁”，以此为孩子祈祷长命百岁。

Infants and young children wore “kylin locks”, to pray for a long life.

贵妇人裙褂常绣有百兽拜麒麟的吉祥图案，表达美好祝愿。

Dresses and gowns of ladies were often embroidered with auspicious patterns of all animals worshipping kylin, to express good wishes.

唐武则天时，“麒麟袍”为三品以上武将专属着装。

Under Wu Zetian's reign in the Tang dynasty, “kylin robes” were exclusive uniforms of warriors above the 3rd official rank.

清代时，将麒麟绣于武官一品的“补子”上，成为等级制度的标志。

In the Qing dynasty, kylin was embroidered on the “insignia” of warriors with a top rank,

to become a symbol of the ranking system.

人们希望麒麟总是伴随着自己，给自己带来幸运和光明，而辟除不祥。

People hope that kylin can always accompany them, bringing luck and light to them and eliminating misfortune.

画师以麒麟为主体，耗时数月精心绘制了麒麟纹样，并制成可装裱可佩戴的“护身”丝绸画。

The painter spent several months painting the kylin pattern with kylin as a major part

and made an "amulet” silk painting that can be mounted and worn. 

在色彩表现上，大面积使用墨绿与褐色，并点缀粉色提亮，

不仅与大部分中式家装风格适配，也更衬托佩戴者肤色。

In terms of the color scheme, dark green and brown were used widely and decorated and highlighted in pink,

which not only fits in with most Chinese-style home decoration styles but also better sets off the skin tone of wearers.  

在绘制手法上，以中国传统工笔画的手法结合细腻线条排列模拟的刺绣纹样，使得作品兼具古典与新意。

As for painting techniques, techniques of traditional Chinese elaborate paintings were combined with the embroidered pattern simulated by meticulous arrangements of lines, to endow the work with both classic and novel features.

在构图上，采用了中式藻井式构图，端庄而稳重。

同时考虑到佩戴场景，对四角图案构成进行了特殊设计。

In terms of composition, the Chinese sunk panel style composition was adopted, 

looking dignified and steady.

Meanwhile, in consideration of wearing scenarios, 

the composition of the quadrangular pattern was specially designed.  

这是一件兼具美学构思与实用考量的艺术作品。

This is a work of art with both aesthetic ideas and practical value.