Refers to Qilin.
According to records, Confucius is closely related to the unicorn. Confucius was born after encountering the unicorn. He often heard his mother talk about it since he was a child, so he had a special affection for the unicorn. In the fourteenth year of the reign of Duke Ai of Lu, Duke Ai of Lu went hunting in the wilds more than 20 miles west of Wucheng. He encountered a unicorn and shot it to death. However, he did not know what kind of animal it was (Qilin), so he asked Confucius to come and identify it.
Confucius saw it was a unicorn, and said with great distress: "This is unicorn, a benevolent beast!" When Confucius saw the death of unicorn, he thought it was an ominous sign, and immediately wrote a poem for Qilin. He wrote the elegy and continued to write from then on, thus the story of Confucius Huolin's last work was born.
"Losing a son, mourning Lin, returning to death" comes from the book "Bereaved of a Dog" by Li Ling.
Excerpts: Confucius was desperate for his homeland and lamented that he was living in the barbarians, but he traveled among the princes and found nothing, and finally returned to his birthplace. His old age was filled with sadness every year. The loss of his son, Ailin, and his return to death made him cry all his tears.
Extended information
"The Lost Dog" is the 2007 edition of Li Ling's book. Following the top ten best books of 2005, "A Pot of Wine among the Flowers" and the top ten best books of 2006, "Soldiers are built by deceit," Li Ling's another inspiring work is "The Lost Dog - My Reading of the Analects of Confucius".
This is a revised edition, printed for the second time in October 2007. This book comes with a bonus: The Lost Dog - I read "The Analects" (Appendix).
Li Ling said: "The Analects" should be read in pieces: read it vertically to experience Confucius' life; read it horizontally to delve into Confucius's heart.
One advantage of "The Analects" is that it does not have the hypocrisy of later generations. The characters in the book, be it the Master or the Ten Philosophers, are all ordinary people, they are happy, angry, laughing and scolding without any concealment. Who said that a great teacher must be tall and powerful, and disciples must be clothed in light? Teachers and students were together. The students criticized the teachers and the teachers scolded the students. All were recorded.
When I read "The Analects", I read the original text. What Confucius’ thoughts were depends on the original book. All my conclusions are based on the words of Confucius himself - I will not boo the intellectuals, nor flatter the people.
Li Ling is the author of: "An Examination of Chinese Alchemy", "A Continuing Examination of Chinese Alchemy", "A Comprehensive Study of Thirteen Chapters of Confucius", "Soldiers Use Deception", "Ancient Research on Bamboo Slips and Silks and Their Academic Origin" " "Into the Mountain and Out of the Fortress", "Shaping the Ancient to Create the Present", "Returning the Tiger to the Mountain", "A Pot of Wine Among the Flowers", "Li Ling's Selected Works", etc.
Baidu Encyclopedia--Bereaved Dog