Ancient writers compared a brave, fierce army to pixiu beasts.
Tips
history
貅 is not used independently in modern Chinese; it occurs almost only in 貔貅, a composite mythical beast (in classical texts 貅 was the female). It joins the clawed-beast radical 豸 with the phonetic 休.
culture
Because 貔貅 was seen as ferocious and unstoppable, classical writers used it as a stock metaphor for a brave, elite army.
