page_title: Fenghuang
section_title: Meaning
hierarchical_section_title: Fenghuang / Meaning
caption_attribution_description: English: A Fenghuang or Chinese phoenix on the roof of the Main Hall of the Mengjia Longshan Temple in Taipei, Taiwan Français&#160;: Un fenghuang ou phénix chinois sur le toit du sanctuaire principal du temple de Longshan à Taipei, Taiwan
context_page_description: Mythological birds that are found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds are usually referred to as 鳳凰. The males were originally called feng and the females huang 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.
  The fenghuang is also called the "August Rooster" since it sometimes takes the place of the Rooster in the Chinese zodiac. In the Western world, it is commonly called the Chinese phoenix or simply Phoenix, although mythological similarities with the Western phoenix are superficial.
context_section_description: 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. The first chapter of the Classic of Mountains and Seas , the "Nanshang-jing", records each part of fenghuang's body symbolizes a word. The head represents virtue (德), the wing represents duty (義), the back represents propriety (禮), the abdomen says credibility (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁).
  In ancient and modern Chinese culture, 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 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. In China and Japan it was a symbol of the imperial house, and it represented "fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity".
caption: A fenghuang on the roof of Longshan Temple in Taipei
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