Sacred splashes: ancient Chinese ritual of ‘elephant washing’ for good fortune

In ancient China, royal families washed elephants to pray for good fortune – until one elephant went rogue and brought the tradition to an end. Elephants had been spotted and documented in China as early as 4000 BC. They are believed to have once been familiar animals in the Central Plains before gradually migrating south to more remote regions. From the Han dynasty (202 BC–220), elephants were presented as tribute to the royal court. They carried deeply auspicious meanings: the Chinese word for...