Fenghuang

Fenghuang (fung-KHWAANG) are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. Fenghuang are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed feng and huang respectively, but a gender distinction is typically no longer made, and fenghuang are generally considered a feminine entity to be paired with the traditionally masculine Chinese dragon.
Fenghuang are known under similar names in various other languages (Japanese: hō-ō; Vietnamese: phượng hoàng or phụng hoàng; Korean: bonghwang). In the West, they are commonly called Chinese phoenixes, although mythological similarities with the Western/Persian phoenix are superficial.
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 western China.
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 – c. 476 BC) and the Warring States period, common form of unearthed artifacts is the combination of dragon-phoenix designs together. One such artifact is the Silk Painting of Human Figure with Dragon and Phoenix, pictured left.
In the 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, 鳳) and the other a female (huang, 凰) 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 (1522–1566) 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 pattern – the 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:
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 (政治清明).
Linguist Wang Li relates element 鳳, OC:*‍bums (ZS), mod. fèng to 鵬, OC:*‍bɯːŋ (ZS) "peng, fabulous great bird"; 鳳 is also related to *plum, OC:*‍風, mod. fēng "wind".
Historical linguist Marc Miyake reconstructs 鳳凰, OC:*‍N-prəm-s ɢʷˁɑŋ, mod. fènghuáng, which he proposes, though with uncertainty, to be the affixed form of 風皇, OC:*‍prəm [ɢ]ʷˁɑŋ (B&S), mod. fēng huáng "wind sovereign".
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 (德), the wing represents duty (義), the back represents propriety (禮), the abdomen represents credibility (信) and the chest represents mercy (仁).
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. In China and Japan, it was a symbol of the imperial house, and it represented "fire, the sun, justice, obedience, and fidelity".
The phoenix is still used in modern Japan and Korea in relation to the head of state:
Other uses include: