Its image first appears on Shang artifacts of China’s Western Zhou Period (11th century BC to 771 BC). The Feng Huang was believed to control the five tones of traditional Chinese music and to represent the Confucian virtues of loyalty, honesty, decorum and justice. The Chinese compound term Fèng Huáng means Phoenix. 鳳 = Fèng, Male Phoenix 凰 = Huáng, Female Phoenix When shown together, the two symbolize both conflict and wedded bliss, and are a common design motif even today in many parts of Asia (see below). In China, early artifacts show the Phoenix (female) as intimately associated with the Dragon (male) - the two are portrayed either as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. It is both a symbol of peace (when the bird appears) and a symbol of disharmony (when the bird disappears). As the herald of a new age, the Hō-ō decends from heaven to earth to do good deeds, and then it returns to its celestial abode to await a new era. In other traditions, the Hō-ō appears only in peaceful and prosperous times (nesting, it is said, in paulownia trees), and hides itself when there is trouble. This mythical bird represents fire, the sun, justice, obedience, fidelity, and the southern star constellations.Īccording to legend (mostly from China), the Hō-ō appears very rarely, and only to mark the beginning of a new era - the birth of a virtuous ruler, for example. In Japan, as earlier in China, the mythical Phoenix was adopted as a symbol of the imperial household, particularily the empress. One of Four Celestial Guardians of Four DirectionsĬonsidered equivalent to the Red Bird | Big Bird Huang 凰 represents female phoenix, yin, lunarĮither as mortal enemies or as blissful lovers. Feng 鳳 represents male phoenix, yang, solar
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