Feng-huang
Fenghuang (Chinese: 鳳凰; pinyin: Fènghuáng; Japanese: 鳳凰 hō-ō; Korean: 봉황 bonghwang; Vietnamese: Phượng Hoàng) are mythological Chinese birds that reign over all other birds. The males are called Feng and the females Huang. In modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and the Feng and Huang are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be paired with the Chinese dragon, which has male connotations. Han Chinese often use the term "Descendents of the Dragon" as a sign of ethnic identity. The Fenghuang is also called the "August Rooster" (Traditional Chinese: 鶤雞 kwangai [Cantonese] kūnjī [Mandarin]) since it sometimes takes the place of the Rooster in the Chinese Zodiac. In the West, it is commonly referred to as the Chinese phoenix and occasionally Ho-Oh bird (from the Japanese name hō-ō).
Appearance
A common depiction was of it attacking snakes with its talons and its wings spread. The Fenghuang is said to be made up of the beak of a cock, 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. Its body symbolizes the six 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. Its feathers contain the five fundamental colors: black, white, red, blue and yellow.[1]
Origin
Fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix, has no connection with the phoenix of the Western world[citation needed]. The images of the phoenix have appeared in China for over 7,000 years, often in jade and originally on good-luck totems. It is a totem of eastern tribes in ancient China. Current theories suggest that it may be a representation of a large pre-historic bird, similar to an ostrich, which were common in pre-historic China.
During the Han Dynasty (2,200 years ago) the phoenix was used as a symbol depicting the direction south, shown as a male (feng, 鳳) and female (huang, 凰) phoenix facing each other. It was also used to symbolize the Empress in a pairing with a dragon where the dragon represents the Emperor. It might come from the merging of eastern and western tribes of ancient China. 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, phoenix only stays when the ruling is without dark and corruption (政治清明).
Meaning
The Fenghuang has very positive connotations. It is a symbol of high virtue and grace. The Fenghuang also symbolizes the union of yin and yang. It appears in peaceful and prosperous times but hides when trouble is near.
In ancient China, they can often be found in the decorations for weddings or royalty, along with dragons. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife, another common yin and yang metaphor.
Modern usage
- "Fèng talon" (鳳爪) is a Cantonese dish of chicken feet cooked in a black bean sauce.
- "Fènghuáng" is a common element in the names of Chinese girls (likewise, "dragon" for boys' names).
- "Dragon and Fèng infants" (龍鳳胎) is an expression meaning a set of boy and girl fraternal twins.
- Fenghuang is also a county in western Hunan province of China, formerly a sub-prefecture. Its name is written with the same Chinese characters as the mythological bird.
- In Korea, it has been used for the royal emblem or the presidential emblem.
External links
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