Editing Gibbon (section)

==In traditional Chinese culture==
[[File:Yi-Yuanji-Two-gibbons-in-an-oak-tree.jpg|thumb|upright|''Two gibbons in an oak tree'' by the [[Song dynasty]] painter [[Yi Yuanji|Yì Yuánjí]]]]
{{Further|Monkeys in Chinese culture}}
[[Sinologist]] [[Robert van Gulik]] concluded gibbons were widespread in central and southern China until at least the [[Song dynasty]], and furthermore, based on an analysis of [[Simians (Chinese poetry)|references to primates in Chinese poetry]] and other literature and their portrayal in Chinese paintings, the Chinese word ''yuán'' (猿) referred specifically to gibbons until they were extirpated throughout most of the country due to [[habitat destruction]] (around the 14th century). In modern usage, however, ''yuán'' is a generic word for ape. Early Chinese writers viewed the "noble" gibbons, gracefully moving high in the treetops, as the "gentlemen" (''jūnzǐ'', 君子) of the forest, in contrast to the greedy [[macaque]]s, attracted by human food. The [[Taoist]]s ascribed occult properties to gibbons, believing them to be able to live for several hundred years and to turn into humans.<ref>van Gulik, Robert. "The gibbon in China. An essay in Chinese animal lore." E. J. Brill, Leiden, Holland. (1967). [http://www.gibbons.de/main/introduction/chapter_english08.html Brief summary]</ref>

Gibbon figurines as old as from the fourth to third centuries BCE (the [[Zhou dynasty]]) have been found in China. Later on, gibbons became a popular subject for Chinese painters, especially during the Song dynasty and early [[Yuan dynasty]], when [[Yi Yuanji|Yì Yuánjí]] and [[Muqi Fachang|Mùqī Fǎcháng]] excelled in painting these apes. From Chinese cultural influence, the [[Zen]] motif of the "gibbon grasping at the reflection of the moon in the water" became popular in [[Japanese art]], as well, though gibbons have never occurred naturally in Japan.<ref>Geissmann, Thomas. [http://www.gibbonconservation.org//07_journal/gibbon_journal_4.pdf "Gibbon paintings in China, Japan, and Korea: Historical distribution, production rate and context"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217022947/http://www.gibbonconservation.org//07_journal/gibbon_journal_4.pdf |date=2008-12-17 }}, ''Gibbon Journal'', No. 4, May 2008. (includes color reproductions of a large number of gibbon paintings by many artists)</ref>