石渠寶笈續編(養心殿),第二冊,頁1080-1094&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁46&*故宮書畫圖錄,第二十冊,頁61-84&* 永樂二年(西元一四Ο四年)秋,傳言周王(朱橚)封邑內,神后山一帶有騶虞出現。於是朱橚率手下前往追捕,因而獲得珍獸,遂呈獻明成祖。本幅畫,就是描繪得自神后山的騶虞。 騶虞是種罕見的白虎,詩召南騶虞毛傳:「騶虞,義獸也。白虎黑文,不食生物,有至信之德。」故逢有騶虞出現,是件祥瑞的大事,即象徵在位者有仁信之德。 &* According to a legend, in the fall of 1404, a tsou-yü appeared in the fief of the Duke of Chou (Chu Su) near the Shen-hou Mountain. Chu Su led his troops in pursuit of it, and they succeeded in capturing the precious animal. It was then presented to the Ming emperor Ch’eng-tsu. This painting depicts the tsou-yü from the Shen-hou Mountain. The tsou-yü is a variety of rarely seen white tigers. The poem Chao-nan tsou-yü-mao chüan says: “The tsou-yü is a beast of righteousness. It is a white tiger striped with black who eats no living beings. Its virtue is faith.” Therefore, if a tsou-yü appears, it is a good omen of great importance, and symbolizes the reign of an emperor of benevolence and faithfulness.