The Vermilion Bird ( zh, c=朱雀, p=Zhūquè) is one of the
Four Symbols
The Four Symbols (, literally meaning "four images"), are four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic, and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also ref ...
of the
Chinese constellations. According to
Wu Xing Wuxing may refer to:
Places in China Counties and districts
*Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China
*Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou
Subdistricts (五星街道)
*Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an District ...
, the
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...
five elemental system, it represents the
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
element, the direction
south, and the season summer correspondingly. Thus it is sometimes called the Vermilion Bird of the South (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: , ). It is described as a red
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
that resembles a
pheasant
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...
with a five-colored plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. It is known as Suzaku in Japanese, Jujak in Korean and Chu Tước in Vietnamese.
It is often mistaken for the
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 ...
due to similarities in appearance, but the two are different creatures. The Fenghuang is a legendary ruler of birds who is associated with the Chinese Empress in the same way the dragon is associated with the Emperor, while the
Vermilion
Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...
Bird is a mythological spirit creature of the Chinese constellations.
Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird
As with the other three
Symbols, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
) within the Vermilion Bird. The names and determinative stars are:
Nature of the symbol
![Segalen-24-Shen-Que-Red-Bird](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Segalen-24-Shen-Que-Red-Bird.jpg)
The Vermilion Bird is elegant and noble in both appearance and behavior, with feathers in many different hues of
vermilion
Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...
. It is very selective about what it eats and where it perches.
Stars
In popular culture
*In the video game ''
Apex Legends
''Apex Legends'' is a free-to-play battle royale-hero shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in February 2019, for Nintendo Switch in March ...
'', Suzaku is the name of the character Valkyrie's heirloom melee weapon. The weapon is a futuristic version of a traditionally-Japanese ''
Yari
is the term for a traditionally-made Japanese blade (日本刀; nihontō) in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear. The martial art of wielding the is called .
History
The forerunner of the is thought to be a ...
'' winged spear, with small flaming rocket thrusters. It suits her half-Japanese heritage, as well as pays homage to the winged spears commonly associated with a ''
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
'' in ''
Norse mythology''.
*In the mobile game ''
Puzzle & Dragons
is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire platforms.
''Puzzle & Dragons'' is a match-three puzzle game, requiring players t ...
'', the Vermilion Bird is depicted as a beautiful, phoenix-like, winged woman who wields the power of flames, known as the "Incarnation of Suzaku, Leilan".
*In the ''
Beyblade
is a line of spinning-top toys originally developed by Takara, first released in Japan in July 1999, along with its debut series. Following Takara's merger with Tomy in 2006, Beyblades are now developed by Takara Tomy. Various toy companies ...
'' series, the Vermilion Bird is called Dranzer.
*In ''
B-Daman Fireblast
''B-Daman Fireblast'', known in Japan as , is the second B-Daman anime series in the ''Crossfire'' saga, succeeding '' B-Daman Crossfire'', and is based on the Emblem Charge System introduced in the toyline in September 2012. It premiered o ...
'', the main protagonist Kamon Godai's B-daman is named Drive Garuburn, whose B-Animal is the Vermilion Bird of the South.
*In the ''
Digimon'' series, Zhuqiaomon is designed after it.
*In the ''
Fushigi Yûgi
, also known as ''Fushigi Yûgi: The Mysterious Play'' or ''Curious Play'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuu Watase. It tells the story of two teenaged girls, Miaka and Yui, who are pulled into ''The Universe of th ...
'' series, Miaka Yūki's journey in the Universe of the Four Gods involves her becoming the Priestess of Suzaku. The god is shown as a bird for most of the series, with only the final few episodes showing him in a humanoid, winged form.
*In the video game ''
Final Fantasy Type-0'', the Vermilion Bird is the name of one of the four Crystals of Orience, representing the Dominion of Rubrum.
*In the video game ''
Final Fantasy XI
also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Squaresoft and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the ''Final Fantas ...
'', Suzaku is one of the 'Gods' in Tu'Lia, the endgame zone introduced in the 'Rise of the Zilart' expansion.
*In the video game ''
Final Fantasy XIV
''Final Fantasy XIV'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square Enix. Directed and produced by Naoki Yoshida, it was released worldwide for Windows and PlayStation 3 in August 2013, as a rep ...
'', Suzaku is one of the auspices introduced in the second expansion of the game, Stormblood.
*In the film ''
Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris'', the titular Iris - the film's primary antagonist - is at one point described as the Vermilion Bird of the South, destined to oppose
Gamera
is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. Debuting in the 1965 film ''Gamera, the Giant Monster'', the character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's ''Godzilla'' film ...
, who is identified as the
Black Tortoise
The Black Tortoise () is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a tortoise entwined together with a snake. The name used in East Asian languages does not mention either anima ...
of the North.
*In ''
Inuyasha
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...
'', Suzaku is one of the demon ninjas voiced by Toth.
*In ''
Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny'', Fan Tong, one of Po's students has the chi of the Red Phoenix, one of the Four Constellations.
*In the ''
Yu Yu Hakusho
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The series tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and killed by a car while attempting to save a child's life. After a number of te ...
'' series, Suzaku is portrayed in a humanoid form as leader of the Underworld group The Four Beasts.
*In the video game ''Nioh'', there is a spirit guardian phoenix named a Suzaku that will resurrect players upon death by activating their living weapon. Once the living weapon runs out, the player is brought back with one hit point.
*In ''
Tokyo Majin
''Tokyo Majin'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime series, which premiered in Japan on the anime satellite TV network Animax. A large part of Tokyo Majin Gakuen, it is loosely based on a series of Japan-only video games, and is directed ...
'', the Vermilion Bird has a vessel who is a character known as Marie Claire.
*In ''
Kemono Friends
is a Japanese media franchise created by manga artist Mine Yoshizaki. The first project was a mobile game developed by Nexon, which ran from March 2015 to December 2016. A manga by Furai was serialized in Kadokawa's '' Monthly Shōn ...
'', the Vermilion Bird is
anthropomorphised
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
along with the other Chinese Four Symbols.
*In ''Yami no Matsuei'', the Vermilion Bird, known only as Suzaku, appears as a shikigami that is summoned by Asato Tsuzuki
*In ''
Overwatch
''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
s 2018 Chinese New Year (Year of the Dog) event, Mercy, one of the game's support heroes, has a cosmetic skin based on the Vermilion Bird.
*In ''
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria'', the Vermilion Bird has been used as the major inspiration to create Chi-Ji, the Red Crane.
*In ''
Sekiro'', the upgrade to the Loaded Umbrella prosthetic tool, Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella is a red shield that protects the player from fire damage.
*In ''
Slash Dog
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
'' light novel series, one of the heroines and lover of the protagonist, Suzaku Himejima is a powerful Shinto priestess and the host of the Vermilion Bird.
*In ''
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang'', one of the heroes that greatly represents the symbol of Vermilion Bird was named after Ling.
*In ''
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. Released on December 1, it is the third installment in ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' and the seventh main en ...
'', there is an anthropomorphic bird blade named Suzaku, Roc in English localization.
*In ''
Fire Emblem: Three Houses'', one of the four saints, Macuil, takes the form of a bird-like dragon representing the Vermilion Bird.
*In ''
Yakuza 4
is an action-adventure game developed and released by Sega for the PlayStation 3. The game was introduced on July 24, 2009. A promotional video was presented at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, The sequel to ''Yakuza 3'', it was released on March 18, ...
'', the four playable characters are represented by the Chinese Four Symbols, with the Vermilion Bird representing Shun Akiyama.
*In the ''
Pokémon'' series, Tornadus' Therian Forme is based on the Vermilion Bird. Like the Vermilion Bird, it was intended to be colored red, but the designer of Throh and Sawk,
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is best known as the primary character designer and art director for the ''Pokémon'' franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, in ...
, felt their colors made their design too similar to that of Tornadus and Thundurus, so the colors of Tornadus and Thundurus were changed. In Tornadus's case, the coloring was changed to mostly green, but also includes purple, white and yellow.
* In ''
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon'', protagonist Setsuna's newest attack of her Yukari no Tachikiri is ''Vermillion Bird Ambush'' which contrary to its name is not red at all.
See also
*
Birds in Chinese mythology
Birds in Chinese mythology and legend are of numerous types and very important in this regard. Some of them are obviously based on real birds, other ones obviously not, and some in-between. The crane is an example of a real type of bird with my ...
*
Four Holy Beasts
The Four Holy Beasts (四靈 or 四聖獣) are the Chinese astronomical and cultural Four Benevolent Animals. They are mentioned in the Chinese classic ''Book of Rites'Liji'' "Liyun (The conveyance of rite" / Ceremonial usages; their origins, d ...
of Vietnam
References
External links
"Star Charts and Moon Stations"
{{Chinese constellations
Chinese constellations
Four Symbols
Guardians of the directions
Mythological and legendary Chinese birds
Onmyōdō deities
Phoenix birds