廌

廌 is archaic and rare. It names a mythological creature - sometimes called 解廌 or 獬豸 in fuller form - a one-horned ox-like beast that could detect dishonesty and would gore the guilty party in court. From legendary times the figure became the emblem of impartial justice and was sewn onto the robes and hats of imperial censors and judges. The character 廌 also functioned as the original form of 豸 (a stub-tailed beast) and is the etymological root of 法 (law) - early forms of which depict the justice-beast pushing the guilty into water.

The justice-beast motif spread across East Asia: in Korea it became the haetae guarding palace gates, in Japan komainu and kirin-related guardians. In modern China, the Supreme People's Procuratorate's emblem incorporates the 獬豸 as a symbol of impartial law enforcement - a direct line from this archaic character.