The Phoenix

The Phoenix is a mythological bird claimed by legend to have regenerative powers, able to rise from the ashes of its own previous incarnation.
In BYG in China, the Phoenix is specifically associated with, and referred to as, Fenghuang. This version doesn't reference the rebirth elements of the Phoenix story, but instead focuses on Fenghuang as the Empress of the Southern Skies, ruler of the Kingdom of Mu.
Described by a storyteller (played by Hua Zhi-Ping, dubbed in narration by David Gumpel; later revealed to be the Goat King in disguise) as the Vermillion Phoenix, Fenghuang could summon hundreds of other birds to help her raise the sun each morning from its slumber at the bottom of the ocean. In an attempt to thwart Fenghuang's duty to her people, an evil demon imprisoned the sun in a dungeon, trapping its rays of light from escaping the dark mountains where he lived. Fenghuang was able to free the sun from the demon and his court of ghosts and spirits by transforming into a human woman who sang a song about the history and beauty of China's people. As a promise to never let the sun fall prey to capture again, the Phoenix appears as the first star in the morning sky, waiting to carry the sun on her shoulders.
Jennifer Michelle Brown first hears of the Phoenix from a Chinatown shopkeeper (Isabella Wong), who presents to her a scroll with several clues that will lead to finding the Phoenix. In the spirit of advancing the friendship of China and America, Sean Hanley and Lucia Becker convince the shopkeeper to loan them the scroll so that he may travel to China (with the Backyard Gang) to tell this Chinese bird that American kids think that they're just swell.
The Backyard Gang's quest is aided by a little girl named Ming Na who helps them find the landmarks on the scroll that lead to finding the Phoenix. Their "treasure hunt" (as Carlos Juan Celi calls it) ends at the foot of an ancient banyan tree where the Phoenix now lives as a construct of light. Surprised that she can speak "American", the Gang's request to the Phoenix is to once again take on human form (Lu Ja-Lin) and sing the song that defeated the forces of darkness.
Category:Characters