The ancients obviously saw whales and knew something about them. As far as the ancients in China are concerned, there were records about whales as early as the pre-Qin period, which were called Kun, big fish and whale giant. In Bangu, they are called "whales". Of course, the ancients always thought that the whale was a fish, but they didn't know that it was actually a mammal: the ancients declared that the king was disrespectful and sealed its catfish, thinking it was a massacre. -Spring and Autumn Period. Zuo Qiuming's Zuo Zhuan. Gong Xuan has been a whale for twelve years, putting bells, climbing jade and riding dragons. Feng Gai, Sa, and Luan Linglong. Celestial officials follow the scene with dignity and tolerance. In addition, the ancients not only knew the existence of whales, but also observed them to a certain extent: sea fish also ... hit the waves for thunder, foam for rain, the aquarium did not dare to escape, and the fish did not dare to be one of them-Cui Bao's Notes on Ancient and Modern Times in the Western Jin Dynasty, which is obviously a conclusion that can be drawn from close observation. Or the smell of Yunlong can smell fragrance, but it's all wrong —— Song and Zhou Qufei's answers to The Generation Beyond the Ridge. Long Xianxiang is the product of indigestion of sperm whales. The whale bones were unearthed in the Yin Ruins of Anyang in the late Shang Dynasty, and are now displayed in the National Museum of China.

During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, two stone whales were carved and placed next to Kunming Pool and Taiye Pool respectively. The stone whale in Taiyechi is now in Shaanxi History Museum. The stone whale (head) in Kunming pond is now in the Beilin Museum in Xi City, Shaanxi Province.