Investigation and analysis of the process of transformation of “Samandar”(salamander) in Persian, Western and Chinese ancient texts

The Word "Samandar" which means a mythical Eurasian animal has been mentioned in the form of various animals in Chinese, Persian and Western historical texts and literature. In Western texts, this animal was usually described as a "tailed amphibian that lives in fire", which is actually considered the "salamander" in biology today; However, in Islamic and Chinese texts, this animal was mostly recorded as a "fiery animal whose hair can be woven into a cloth that does not burn in fire", which the authors meant was "fireproof cotton", and in Chinese texts it has another name "Hu Huan" Fabric. In this article, the author has tried to examine the similarities and differences between people's understanding of "salamander" in the West and the East in ancient times by sampling the descriptions of "salamander" in various texts; And by focusing on the similarity of the "salamander" feature in Persian and Chinese texts, to explain the flow of promotion of the "salamander" myth from the western regions (Iranian and Arab lands) to China and to emphasize the fact that the transfer of the "salamander" myth from the west to The East is one of the important examples of cultural exchanges between Chinese and Iranian-Islamic civilizations.