Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us that the qilin:
"...is a mythical hooved Chinese chimerical creature known throughout various East Asian cultures, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a wise sage or an illustrious ruler. It is a good omen that brings rui (Chinese: ?; pinyin: ruì; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It is sometimes misleadingly called the "Chinese unicorn" due to conflation with the unicorn by Westerners."
There are two qilin depicted on each side of this gate located in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The placard accompanying the gate explains:
"Carved panels of tomb gate
Yongtai Village near Beijing
Limestone
c.1660-1700, Qing dynasty
Some of Zu Dashou's more important
sons had their own enclosed family
graveyards, constructed next to their
father's. These panels, carved with
mythical qilin animals, come from the
gate which guarded the graveyard of
one of these sons."