Fenghuang

''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and they are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which is traditionally deemed male.

It is known under similar names in various other languages ( Japanese: ; vi, phượng hoàng, italics=no or ; Korean: ). In the Western world, it is commonly called the Chinese phoenix or simply phoenix, although mythological similarities with the Western phoenix are superficial.

Appearance

A common depiction of fenghuang was of it attacking snakes with its talons and its wings spread. According to the ''Erya'''s chapter 17 ''Shiniao'', fenghuang is made up of the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish. Today, however, it is often described as a composite of many birds including the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow.

The fenghuang's body symbolizes the celestial bodies: the head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail is the planets. The fenghuang is said to have originated in the sun. Its body contains the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, yellow, and green. It sometimes carries scrolls or a box with sacred books. It is sometimes depicted with a fireball. It is believed that the bird only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness.

Chinese tradition cites it as living atop the Kunlun Mountains in northern China.

Origin

The earliest known ancient phoenix design dates back to about 7000–8000 years ago and was discovered in Hongjiang, Hunan Province, at the Gaomiao Archeological Site. The earliest known form of dragon-phoenix design, on the other hand, dates back to the Yangshao culture (c. 5000 – c. 3000 BC) and was found at an archeological site near Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. This ancient usage of ''phoenix'' and ''dragon'' designs are all evidence of an ancient form of totemism in China.

During the Shang dynasty, phoenix and dragon images appear to have become popular as burial objects. Several archeological artifacts of jade phoenix and jade dragons were unearthed in tombs dating from the Shang dynasty period.

During the Spring and Autumn period (c. 771 BC – c. 476 BC) and the Warring States period, common form of unearthed artifacts are the combination of dragon-phoenix designs together. One of such artifacts is the ''Silk Painting of Human Figure with Dragon and Phoenix,'' which shows such combination of dragon and phoenix images.

In Qin dynasty (221–206 BC), phoenix hairpins (i.e. hairpins with ''fenghuang'' decorations) and shoes which were also decorated with phoenix designs were supposed to be worn by the Imperial concubines of the Qin Emperor.

During the Han dynasty (2,200 years ago) two phoenixes, one a male (''feng'', ) and the other a female (''huang'', ) were often shown together facing one other. In the Han dynasty, an imperial edict decreed that the phoenix hairpins had to become the formal headpiece for the empress dowager and the imperial grandmother.

Later, during the Yuan dynasty the two terms were merged to become ''fenghuang'', but the "King of Birds" came to symbolize the empress when paired with a dragon representing the emperor.

From the Jiajing era (1522–66) of the Ming dynasty onwards, a pair of phoenixes was differentiated by the tail feathers of the two birds, typically together forming a closed circle patternthe male identified by five long serrated tail feathers or "filaments" (five being an odd, masculine, or ''yang'' number) and the female by what sometimes appears to be one but is in fact usually two curling or tendrilled tail feathers (two being an even, feminine, or ''yin'' number). Also during this period, the ''fenghuang'' was used as a symbol representing the direction south. This was portrayed through a male and female facing each other. Their feathers were of the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, green, and yellow. These colours are said to represent Confucius' five virtues:
# Ren: the virtue of benevolence, charity, and humanity;
# Yi: honesty and uprightness; ''Yì'' may be broken down into ''zhōng'', doing one's best, conscientiousness, loyalty and ''shù'': the virtue of reciprocity, altruism, consideration for others
#Zhi: knowledge
# Xin: faithfulness and integrity;
# Li: correct behavior, propriety, good manners, politeness, ceremony, worship.

The phoenix represented power sent from the heavens to the Empress. If a phoenix was used to decorate a house it symbolized that loyalty and honesty were in the people that lived there. Or alternatively, a phoenix only stays when the ruler is without darkness and corruption ().

Meaning

The fenghuang has positive connotations. It is a symbol of virtue and grace. The fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. The first chapter of the ''Classic of Mountains and Seas '', the "Nanshang-jing", states that each part of fenghuang's body symbolizes a word. The head represents virtue (), the wing represents duty (), the back represents propriety (), the abdomen represents credibility () and the chest represents mercy ().

The ''fenghuang'' originally consisted of a separate male ''feng'' and a female ''huang'' as symbols of yin and yang. The male ''feng'' represented the ''yang'' aspect while the ''huang'' represented the ''yin'' aspect; and together, the feng and huang image was symbolic of love between husband and wife. However, since the Qin dynasty, the ''fenghuang'' progressively went through a feminization process as the dragon became a symbol of masculinity. Eventually the ''feng'' and the ''huang'' merged into a single female entity.

In ancient and modern Chinese culture, ''fenghuang'' can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon-and-phoenix design symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yang and yin metaphor. In some traditions it appears in good times but hides during times of trouble, while in other traditions it appeared only to mark the beginning of a new era.Sources:
* It's rumored to only land in areas where there is something precious underneath. Such as so, in one story, a man who saw a Fenghuang land on a patch of ground later returned to dig in that area and salt was discovered.
* In China and Japan it was a symbol of the imperial house, and it represented "fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity".

File:Longshan Temple - Fenghuang.jpg, A fenghuang on the roof of Longshan Temple in Taipei
File:Fenghuang-drawing-1664.jpg, Drawing of a ''Fum Hoam ''(''fenghuang'') by a Dutch man, circa 1664.
File:Nine-headed phoenix, from a color edition of Shan Hai Jing (crop).jpg, ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'' illustration of a nine-headed phoenix (colored Qing Dynasty edition)
File:Portrait of an empress, possibly Xiaoxianchun, wife of Emperor Qianlong.jpg, Portrait of an empress, possibly Empress Xiaoxianchun, (wife of the Qianlong Emperor) sitting on a chair decorated with phoenixes

Modern usage

The phoenix is still used in modern Japan and Korea in relation to the head of state:
*Japan: The ''Hōō'' (, , the Japanese pronunciation of 鳳凰) is associated with the Japanese Imperial family. Examples include:
** The actual Imperial throne is adorned by numerous ''Hōō''s.
** The Imperial custume ''Kōrozen no Gohō'' () is decorated by numerous ''Hōō''s.
** Various Japanese stamps and currency, such as the back of the current series E (2004) ¥10,000 yen note.
** Toyota's flagship vehicle favored by the Japanese Imperial family and high Japanese government officials, the Toyota Century, uses the ''Hōō'' as an identifying emblem.
*Korea: two ''bonghwang'' (, Korean pronunciation of 鳳凰) are used in the symbol of the Korean President. Historically the ''bonghwang'' was used for queens and empresses.

Other uses include:
* ''Fèng'' or ''Fènghuáng'' is a common element in given names of Chinese women (likewise, " Dragon" is used for men's names).
* " Dragon-and-phoenix infants" () is a Chinese term for a set of male and female fraternal twins.
*Fenghuang is a common place name throughout China. The best known is Fenghuang County in western Hunan, southern China, formerly a sub-prefecture. Its name is written with the same Chinese characters as the mythological bird.
* '' Phoenix talons'' () is a Chinese term for chicken claws in any Chinese dish cooked with them.
*The Vermilion Bird, (''Suzaku'' in Japanese) one of the Four Symbols of Chinese myth, sometimes equated with the fenghuang.
* The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) uses it in its emblem to symbol nobility, beauty, loyalty and majesty.
* Phoenix Television () is a Hong Kong-based media company
* Typhoon Fung-wong has been a meteorological name for three tropical cyclones. The term was contributed by Hong Kong and is the Cantonese pronunciation of ''fenghuang''.

*When describing chinoiserie or authentic Asian ceramics and other artworks, English-speaking art historians and antique collectors sometimes refer to it as hoho bird,Examples (retrieved 3 July 2013):

Cosgrove, Maynard Giles (1974)
The Enamels of China and Japan: Champlevé and Cloisonné
Hale. p. 75. .

Catherine Pagani (2001). Eastern Magnificence and European Ingenuity: Clocks of Late Imperial China. University of Michigan Press. p. 131. .

Van Goidsenhoven, J. P. (1936)
La Céramique chinoise sous les Tsing: 1644–1851
R. Simonson. p. 215. a name derived from ''hōō'', with a second extraneous ''h'' added. The seemingly vast difference between ''hōō ''and ''fenghuang'' is due to Chinese vowels with ''ng'' usually being converted to ''ō'' in ''go-on'' reading. The Japanese also use the word ''fushichō'' for this image.

File:凤凰雕塑 - Phoenix Sculpture -2011.05 - panoramio.jpg, Phoenix sculpture in Fenghuang mountain, Fengcheng.
File:Dragon & Phoenix Arch.jpg, Dragon & Phoenix Arch in China
File:Seal of the President of the Republic of Korea.svg, Seal of the South Korean President, with twin phoenix emblem.
File:Korea-Seoul-Blue House (Cheongwadae) Fountain 0698-07.JPG, Phoenix sculpture by the Blue House (former residence of the Korean President).
File:CU Emblem.jpg, The emblem of CUHK is the mythical Chinese bird ''feng'' () which has been regarded as the Bird of the South since the Han dynasty. It is a symbol of nobility, beauty, loyalty and majesty. The University colours are purple and gold, representing devotion and loyalty, and perseverance and resolution, respectively.

See also

* Birds in Chinese mythology
*Chinese mythology
* Four Holy Beasts
* Byōdō-in, Buddhist temple in Japan
* Byodo-In Temple, Buddhist temple in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi
* Firebird in Russian mythology
* Ho-Oh
* Huma bird in Persian mythology
* ''Phoenix'' (manga)
* Phoenix (mythology)
* Phoenix Program, Vietnam War operation by the US
* Phoenix Mountain, a mountain in Zhejiang, China
* Simurgh, an Iranian mythological bird identifiable with the phoenix

References

External links

*

{{Chinese mythology

Mythological and legendary Chinese birds
East Asian legendary creatures
Four benevolent animals
Japanese legendary creatures
Korean legendary creatures
Legendary birds
Phoenix birds
Yangshao culture