From Jorge Luis Borges’ "Book Of Imaginary Beings":
In one of the volumes of Lettres edifiantes et curieuses that appeared in Paris sometime during the first half of the eighteenth century, Father Zallinger, of the Company of Jesus, mentioned the possibility of compiling a catalog of the illusions and errors of the common folk of Canton province. In a preliminary listing, he noted that the Fish was an elusive, gleaming creature that no one had ever touched but that many people believed they had seen in the depths of mirrors. Father Zallinger died in 1736, and the work began by his pen remained unfinished . One hundred fifty years later, Herbert Allen Gilles took up the interrupted labor. According to Giles, this belief is part of a broader myth, which goes back to the legendary age of the Yellow Emperor.
In those days, the world of mirrors and the world of man were not, as they are now, separate and unconnected. They were, moreover, quite different from another, neither the creatures nor colors nor the shapes of the two worlds were the same. The two kingdoms - the specular and the human - lived in peace, and one could pass back and forth through mirrors. One night, however, the people of the mirror invaded this world. Their strength was great, but after many bloody battles, the magic of the Yellow Emperor prevailed. The Emperor punished them by making them repeat, as though in a kind of dream, all the actions of the human victors. He stripped them of their strength and their own shape and reduced them to mere servile reflections. One day, however, they will throw off their magical lethargy.
The first to awaken shall be the Fish. In the depths of the mirror, we shall perceive a faint, faint line, and the color of that line will not resemble any other. Then other forms will begin to awaken. Gradually they will become different from us; gradually they will no longer imitate us. They will break through the barriers of glass or metal, and this time they will not be conquered. Water-creatures will battle alongside mirror-creatures.
In Yunnan province, people speak not of the Fish but rather the Tiger of the Mirror. Others believe that before the invasion, we will hear, from the depths of the Mirrors, the sound of arms.[li]
edited by IHNIWTR on 8/23/2013