According to Guo Pu's note in "Erya Shi Bird", the appearance characteristics of the phoenix are: "chicken head, swallow jaw, snake neck, turtle back, fish tail, five colors, six feet high". "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" contains: "The elephant of the phoenix, the front and the deer of the Lin, the head of the snake and the tail of the fish, the back of the dragon and the turtle, the swallow-jawed chicken beak, and the five-color preparation." Out of the country of oriental gentlemen, soaring beyond the four seas, passing through Kunlun, drinking pillars, weak water, staying in the wind cave at dusk, seeing the world is peaceful. ”

The phoenix has a noble personality, "not only the sycamore, but not the practice, not the food, and the non-liquor spring and the drink". [13]

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Tuzan" contains, the phoenix bears five kinds of image character patterns: "The first text is said to be de, the wing text is said to be shun, the back text is said to be righteous, the belly text is said to be letter, and the text is said to be benevolent." "Hug Puzi" explains this: "The husband's behavior is benevolent and green." The crested head is green, so it is called Dai Ren. Gold is righteous and white. The phoenix neck is white, so it is said to be righteous. Fire salutes, for red. The phoenix mouth is red, so it is said to be a negative courtesy. Water behavior is wise, black, phoenix chest black, so it is still known. The earth line is a letter, and it is yellow. The phoenix's feet are yellow, so it is said that the letter is also. ”

The Southern Song Dynasty geographer Zhou Qufei compiled the geographical masterpiece "Lingwai Dai Answer", which gives a very detailed account of the phoenix: the phoenix was born in the Danxue in the south, and only built its nest on the high cliff in Yongzhou (now Nanning, Guangxi). The phoenix is covered with colorful feathers, as big as a peacock, and a hundred birds will inevitably stand around it. The crest of feathers on the top of the head is always filled with water, and the male and female take turns to eat, never approaching the human world. It is also recorded that the phoenix nests in the deep forests of the Liangjiang region, and after laying eggs, the male phoenix uses wooden branches mixed with peach gum to enclose the female phoenix in the nest, leaving only a small porone. Then the male phoenix looks for food to feed the female, and if he gets food, he will remove the cover, and if he can't get food, he will seal the hole and suffocate the female phoenix to death. [14]

Historical OriginsEdit

In the early days, the social productivity was low, people lived in the harsh natural environment, and they could not independently control the natural forces, nor could they explain their own origins, they were full of illusions, longings and even fears of the natural world, and worshiped various natural or supernatural forces that were more powerful than human beings, which was the social basis for the emergence of totems and ghosts.

Hemudu Phoenix

Hemudu Phoenix

Bird totem worship is often associated with sun worship. The well-known three-legged black was originally the "Sun Bird", and the gold ornament of the "Sun God Bird" in Jinsha, Sichuan, which is used in the symbol of China's cultural heritage, is also the shape of four sacred birds rotating and flying around the sun. This dual worship of the sun and birds led to the birth of an important image of Chinese culture, the phoenix.

"White Tiger Pass: Five Elements" records: "Its emperor Yan Emperor, the sun also." Its god Zhu Rong, Zhu Rong, is a continuation. Its essence is a bird, and it is separated from a luan, and it is divided into three things. ” [15]

It can be seen that in the eyes of the Chu people, the bird luan is the messenger of their ancestors, and the worship of both comes from the bird totem belief.

The origin of the phoenix is about the Neolithic Age, and many bird patterns on the pottery of the primitive society are the prototype of the phoenix. In 1977, the 7,000-year-old Hemudu cultural site unearthed the "double bird Chaoyang pattern ivory saucer". On both sides of this artifact, there is a phoenix bird with wings ready to fly, round eyes, hooked beak, stretching out its neck and looking at the head, embracing the sun, vividly reflecting the worship of the ancestors after the invention of primitive agriculture to know the time bird and the sun that shines on all things. The Hemudu phoenix was once considered by the archaeological community to be the earliest phoenix pattern in China. [16]

In 1991, a white clay pot with a high straight collar was unearthed at the Gaomiao Cultural Site in Hongjiang City, Hunan Province, which was stamped with a phoenix pattern, which has a history of 7,400 years. According to experts, the Yuanshui phoenix is about 400 years earlier than the Hemudu phoenix, and it is the oldest phoenix pattern in China so far, and this discovery provides valuable material for unraveling the mystery of the "birth" of the phoenix. [16]

Yuanshui Phoenix

Yuanshui Phoenix

On the neck and shoulders of the white clay pot, there are two flying mythical birds, phoenixes, one on the front and one on the side, with a majestic posture. They have the distinctive characteristics of the mythical and legendary phoenix: they have a crown, a very long beak, a long neck, and a beautiful long tail. The most peculiar thing is that the food sacs of the two phoenixes are also stamped with fangs and tongues, which is obviously a combined fetish at this time.

In history, in real life, the phoenix, like dragons, is a bridge between humans and gods. With the help of dragons and phoenixes, human beings communicate with nature.

The phoenix is a kind of divine animal created by human beings in primitive society for their piety, worship and worship of the gods.

The dragon and the phoenix are both the two major totem systems of the Chinese nation, and the worship of the phoenix is a strong national complex. The Chinese have endowed the phoenix with many beautiful characteristics: beauty, auspiciousness, kindness, tranquility, virtue, and nature. But the phoenix is not created out of thin air, from the high temple according to the "Erya Shi Bird" Guo Pu note, the appearance characteristics of the phoenix are: "chicken head, swallow jaw, snake neck, turtle back, fish tail, five colors, six feet high." "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" contains: "The elephant of the phoenix, the front and the deer of the Lin, the head of the snake and the tail of the fish, the back of the dragon and the turtle, the swallow-jawed chicken beak, and the five-color preparation." Out of the country of oriental gentlemen, soaring beyond the four seas, passing through Kunlun, drinking pillars, weak water, staying in the wind cave at dusk, seeing the world is peaceful. ”

The phoenix has a noble personality, "not only the sycamore, but not the practice, not the food, and the non-liquor spring and the drink". [13]

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas: Tuzan" contains, the phoenix bears five kinds of image character patterns: "The first text is said to be de, the wing text is said to be shun, the back text is said to be righteous, the belly text is said to be letter, and the text is said to be benevolent." "Hug Puzi" explains this: "The husband's behavior is benevolent and green." The crested head is green, so it is called Dai Ren. Gold is righteous and white. The phoenix neck is white, so it is said to be righteous. Fire salutes, for red. The phoenix mouth is red, so it is said to be a negative courtesy. Water behavior is wise, black, phoenix chest black, so it is still known. The earth line is a letter, and it is yellow. The phoenix's feet are yellow, so it is said that the letter is also. ”

The Southern Song Dynasty geographer Zhou Qufei compiled the geographical masterpiece "Lingwai Dai Answer", which gives a very detailed account of the phoenix: the phoenix was born in the Danxue in the south, and only built its nest on the high cliff in Yongzhou (now Nanning, Guangxi). The phoenix is covered with colorful feathers, as big as a peacock, and a hundred birds will inevitably stand around it. The crest of feathers on the top of the head is always filled with water, and the male and female take turns to eat, never approaching the human world. It is also recorded that the phoenix nests in the deep forests of the Liangjiang region, and after laying eggs, the male phoenix uses wooden branches mixed with peach gum to enclose the female phoenix in the nest, leaving only a small porone. Then the male phoenix looks for food to feed the female, and if he gets food, he will remove the cover, and if he can't get food, he will seal the hole and suffocate the female phoenix to death. [14]

Historical OriginsEdit

In the early days, the social productivity was low, people lived in the harsh natural environment, and they could not independently control the natural forces, nor could they explain their own origins, they were full of illusions, longings and even fears of the natural world, and worshiped various natural or supernatural forces that were more powerful than human beings, which was the social basis for the emergence of totems and ghosts.

Hemudu Phoenix

Hemudu Phoenix

Bird totem worship is often associated with sun worship. The well-known three-legged black was originally the "Sun Bird", and the gold ornament of the "Sun God Bird" in Jinsha, Sichuan, which is used in the symbol of China's cultural heritage, is also the shape of four sacred birds rotating and flying around the sun. This dual worship of the sun and birds led to the birth of an important image of Chinese culture, the phoenix.

"White Tiger Pass: Five Elements" records: "Its emperor Yan Emperor, the sun also." Its god Zhu Rong, Zhu Rong, is a continuation. Its essence is a bird, and it is separated from a luan, and it is divided into three things. ” [15]

It can be seen that in the eyes of the Chu people, the bird luan is the messenger of their ancestors, and the worship of both comes from the bird totem belief.

The origin of the phoenix is about the Neolithic Age, and many bird patterns on the pottery of the primitive society are the prototype of the phoenix. In 1977, the 7,000-year-old Hemudu cultural site unearthed the "double bird Chaoyang pattern ivory saucer". On both sides of this artifact, there is a phoenix bird with wings ready to fly, round eyes, hooked beak, stretching out its neck and looking at the head, embracing the sun, vividly reflecting the worship of the ancestors after the invention of primitive agriculture to know the time bird and the sun that shines on all things. The Hemudu phoenix was once considered by the archaeological community to be the earliest phoenix pattern in China. [16]

In 1991, a white clay pot with a high straight collar was unearthed at the Gaomiao Cultural Site in Hongjiang City, Hunan Province, which was stamped with a phoenix pattern, which has a history of 7,400 years. According to experts, the Yuanshui phoenix is about 400 years earlier than the Hemudu phoenix, and it is the oldest phoenix pattern in China so far, and this discovery provides valuable material for unraveling the mystery of the "birth" of the phoenix. [16]

Yuanshui Phoenix

Yuanshui Phoenix

On the neck and shoulders of the white clay pot, there are two flying mythical birds, phoenixes, one on the front and one on the side, with a majestic posture. They have the distinctive characteristics of the mythical and legendary phoenix: they have a crown, a very long beak, a long neck, and a beautiful long tail. The most peculiar thing is that the food sacs of the two phoenixes are also stamped with fangs and tongues, which is obviously a combined fetish at this time.

In history, in real life, the phoenix, like dragons, is a bridge between humans and gods. With the help of dragons and phoenixes, human beings communicate with nature.

The phoenix is a kind of divine animal created by human beings in primitive society for their piety, worship and worship of the gods.

The dragon and the phoenix are both the two major totem systems of the Chinese nation, and the worship of the phoenix is a strong national complex. The Chinese have endowed the phoenix with many beautiful characteristics: beauty, auspiciousness, kindness, tranquility, virtue, and nature. But the phoenix is not created out of thin air, judging from the phoenix pattern found at the Gaomiao cultural site, its original shape has a lot to do with the peacock. [16]

The zoological prototype of the phoenix is widely believed to be a hybrid. He Xin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, presented evidence and arguments in his 1987 and 2004 books "Talking about the Dragon and the Wind", arguing that the prototype animal of the phoenix was a large bird, mainly a large ostrich. Judging from the phoenix pattern found at the cultural site, its original shape has a lot to do with the peacock. [16]

The zoological prototype of the phoenix is widely believed to be a hybrid. He Xin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, presented evidence and arguments in his 1987 and 2004 books "Talking about the Dragon and the Wind", arguing that the prototype animal of the phoenix was a large bird, mainly a large ostrich.