Chongming Bird is a mythical bird in ancient Chinese myths and legends that resembles a chicken, with a cry like a phoenix, heavy pupils, and infinite power. Chongming bird can get rid of disasters such as beasts and monsters, the old New Year's customs, sticking chickens on the doors and windows, is actually the will of Chongming birds. Because this bird has two eyeballs in both eyes, it is called a heavy bird, also called a heavy eye bird. It has great strength and is able to fight beasts.

Yao was the king for decades, and his reputation for being wise and thrifty spread far and wide, and in his later years, the branch of the country, which was thousands of miles away, presented Yao Jin with a strange bird named Chongming Bird. The double eye bird, also known as the two-eyed bird, has two pupils in each of its two eyes.

It was shaped like a chicken, and its voice was as loud and beautiful as that of a phoenix. It often shakes off all the feathers on its body, flappes its featherless body with its bare wings, and dances and whirls high in the air. It can expel tigers, leopards, jackals, wolves and other fierce beasts, so that many demons and monsters dare not harm humans. It also has low requirements for humans, it does not eat food, as long as it drinks a little Qiongyu's ointment, it is very satisfied.

However, the bird was so attached to its homeland that the people could not bear it, so they allowed it to come and go freely.

The bird is very righteous, it understands people's good intentions, and sometimes it goes out of its way to visit it several times a year. Sometimes people offend it and don't come every few years. So, every household cleaned the courtyard and put on the elixir and jade liquid, hoping that the Chongming bird would come to perch. Birds, beasts and ghosts often take advantage of the absence of the bird to come out to harm people, people use wood or copper and iron to cast into the shape of the bird, placed in the portal, in this way, the birds, beasts and ghosts will be afraid, hide far away, dare not come to make trouble.

Later, during the Chinese New Year, some people used woodcuts, some copper, and some paper cutouts to make the shape of chickens and hang them on doors and windows, and it is said that this is the custom of using the heavy bird to drive away evil at that time.

The story of Chongming Bird has been passed down to this day, and it cannot but be said to be related to Yao Xianming's reputation.

Nightdreaming

Legend has it that King Shun was born by Chongming Bird.

In ancient times, there lived a blind man named Susuo at the foot of the mountain. One night he had a dream in which he saw a bird flying to him, feeding him with food in his mouth, and saying to him, "If I don't go away from now on, will I be your son?" When he woke up, the more he thought about it, the more strange it became, and he told his daughter-in-law about his dream from beginning to end. The daughter-in-law said, "The dream is in my heart, you think your son is going crazy!"

Let's not talk about the daughter-in-law giving birth to a baby for the time being, let's talk about what Chongming Bird is. The Chongming bird is also called the double-eyed bird, which looks similar to the chickens fed by the household, and the sound of chirping is the same as that of a phoenix, which is strange and beautiful. The difference is that it has two pupils in one eye socket. Demons and monsters, jackals, tigers and leopards, don't say that you see its shadow, as soon as you hear its cry, you will be numb with fright, and you will run away for your life. The common people say that the Chongming Bird avoids evil spirits, and everyone looks forward to the Chongming Bird flying. But the bird lives far and wide. Therefore, everyone followed the example of the Ming Bird, some carved one out of wood, some pinched one out of mud, and placed it on the roof to scare the demons, demons, wolves, tigers and leopards.

Ever since he dreamed of the bird, his daughter-in-law was really pregnant with a baby. Ten months later, she gave birth to a chubby son. On the day of giving birth, a heavy bird really flew in, landed at the door of the house, and squeaked and cooed for a while. When the baby was born in the house, the Chongming bird at the door was gone, and the neighbors in the east and the west said that the life was good and the blessings were great. Then take a closer look at the newborn little fetus, they are all stunned, the eye sockets of the little fetus are exactly the same as the eye sockets of the Chongming bird, and there are two pupils in one eye socket.

Everyone said that this doll was born by Chongming Bird.

Tribute to Emperor Yao

One day, Xi Zhong came to play and said that the Gizhi country had sent an envoy to pay tribute. Di Yao was busy entertaining according to etiquette. This time, the Gizhi Kingdom paid tribute to a strange bird, which was like a chicken, and the feathers of its two wings had fallen off, and only two fleshy feathers remained, and its shape was very ugly. Emperor Yao thought that he would come from afar to pay tribute, and there must be something peculiar, so he asked the messenger, "What is the name of this bird, and what is its special function?" The messenger said, "This bird has two eyeballs in both eyes, so it is called the Chongming Bird, also called the Chongming Bird, also called the Chongming Bird." It has great strength and is able to fight beasts. It chirped, its sound was like a phoenix, all the demons and evils were far away, and they could not be harmed, it was really a kind of spirit bird. Therefore, the king of a small country sent his courtiers to contribute, hoping to beg for a reward. Di Yao said: "Its feathers are not yet complete, where can it still hunt fierce beasts?"

The envoy was about to speak, but he knew that this heavy bird seemed to know it, and after listening to Di Yao's words, he immediately started a long song, and the sound was really like a phoenix; suddenly he flashed two meat wings, lifted them in the air, flew around the hall for a turn, and went straight out of the court, and flew and chirped. At that time, the phoenix nesting in Ah Ge and the flying bird heard its song, and they also flew together, advocating harmony with it, and the sound was harmonious and very pleasant. At this time, Shujun was in the palace, and when he saw the Chongming Bird going out of the palace, he couldn't help but shout, "Ahh After a while, he flew back. At this time, the guards on the stairs suddenly saw countless flocks of birds flying north in the air, very quickly. Later, when I inquired, I learned that they were all owls and the like, and they probably heard the song of the heavy bird and fled to the desert. Since then, it is really strange that there are no owls and evil birds within hundreds of miles where the Chongming bird is located.

It was said that Emperor Yao valued the situation of the Ming Bird, and knew that it was indeed a spirit bird, so he asked the messenger, "Are its feathers like this all year round?" Its feathers come and go for a long time, and this is the time for it to untie its feathers, so it is. Di Yao said, "So what does it eat?" The messenger said, "Usually it is outside, and it doesn't know what to eat." If anyone feeds it, it must be anointed with jade.'" Here, Emperor Yao and his ministers discussed the method of retaining and raising the heavy bird. Di Yao said: "It is a spirit bird, like Luan Feng, it can't be bent to the cage, and it can be left to come and go." Besides, it is too luxurious to raise it with agar, so where can I have so many qiongyu to supply it?"

When the ministers heard this, they all thought so, so they placed the bird in the woods and listened to its freedom. Since then, the Chongming bird has been flying back and forth, always within a few hundred miles of the imperial capital, and all the jackals, tigers and leopards have been killed by it, and the people have come and gone, which is a lot more convenient. Occasionally, there are strange or unusual things in the people's homes, as long as the Chongming bird arrives, the monster will immediately lurk; If the mountains, forests, rivers and fierce beasts are troubled, as long as they hear the song of the heavy bird, the beasts will all flee, so everyone worships this heavy bird as a god, and there is no one who does not sweep the door, stretching its neck and limping to see it fly. The heavy bird lived in the imperial capital for a few hours, and suddenly flew away. Then I came once a year, and only once every few years. Everyone was in a hurry to look forward to it, and someone came up with a way to carve a statue of a heavy bird out of wood, or cast a statue of a heavy bird out of gold, and place it between the portals.

I don't know that there is a spirit, and all the ugly and ugly people can also retreat. Therefore, on the New Year's Day every year, the people of the future will either carve wood, or cast gold, or paint the shape of a chicken, and put it on the window. This is the story of the Chongming Bird.

"Collected Memories"

1. Original text

Jin Wangjia's "Collected Memories" Volume 1: "Yao reigned for seventy years...... There is a country of support, a bird of dedication, a pair of eyes, words and eyes. It looks like a chicken, and it sings like a phoenix. When the feathers are removed, the flesh flies. It can fight the fierce beasts, tigers and wolves, so that the demons and the evil cannot be harmed. And with the anointment, or a year old, or a few years old. The people of the country do not sweep the door, in order to hope for the Ming set. Before it arrived, the people of the country either carved wood or cast gold, in the shape of this bird. If it is placed between the portals, it will be glamorous and ugly, and it will naturally retreat. Today, every year of the first day, or carved wood and cast gold, or the picture is a chicken on the chest, this is also its legacy. ”

2. Vernacular translation

Four thousand years ago, King Yao reigned for 70 years, there were Luan chicks who came to the dynasty every year, the unicorn swam in Zexu, and the owl avoided the desert. The distant "Gizhi country" paid tribute to a heavy bird, which has two eyes in both eyes, eyes like chickens, chirping like phoenixes, spreading its wings and flying, can fight tigers, leopards, bears, and sweep away demons and monsters. Therefore, people all swept the door, hoping that the heavy bird would land on their door. But the bird no longer came, so people carved wood or cast gold to make the shape of a heavy bird and placed it on the portal to deter the ghost. On the first day of the first lunar month, people will make a statue of the Chongming bird, or "draw a chicken in the household", which is the shape of the Chongming bird.

"The Legend of Xuanzhong"

The Jin Dynasty's "Xuanzhong Ji" talks about the aforementioned Tianji on Dushuo Mountain, saying that when Tai is just rising, the first sunlight shines on this big tree, the Tianji crows. As soon as it crowed, the chickens of the world began to crow. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival is actually a symbol of the chicken. However, in ancient mythology, there is also a saying that the chicken is a deformed bird. It is said that when Emperor Yao, the friends of the side paid tribute to a kind of Chongming bird that can ward off evil spirits, and everyone welcomed the arrival of Chongming Bird, but the tribute envoy did not come every year, so people thought of carving a wooden Chongming Bird, or cast it in bronze and put it in the portal, or painted Chongming Bird on the doors and windows, so as to scare away the demons and monsters, so that they did not dare to come. Because the heavy Ming bird resembles a chicken, it was gradually changed to painting chickens or cutting window flowers and pasting them on doors and windows, which also became the source of paper-cutting art in later generations. In ancient China, special attention was paid to chickens, calling them "birds of five virtues".

"The Biography of Korean Poems"

"Han Poems Biography" said that it has a crown on its head, which is Wende, a distance behind its feet to be able to fight, and it is a martial virtue; when the enemy dares to fight in front, it is a brave virtue; it is benevolence to have food to greet the same kind; and it is a faith that keeps vigil and reports the dawn of the day. Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the New Year, but also set the first day of the new year as the chicken day.

In ancient mythology, it was said that the chicken was a deformed bird. When Emperor Yao, distant friends paid tribute to a kind of Chongming bird that can ward off evil spirits, and everyone welcomed the arrival of Chongming Bird, but the tribute envoy did not come every year, so people carved a wooden Chongming Bird, or cast Chongming Bird with copper and put it on the portal, or painted Chongming Bird on the doors and windows, to scare away demons and monsters, so that they did not dare to come again. Because the appearance of the heavy bird resembles a chicken, it was gradually changed to painting chickens or cutting window flowers and pasting them on doors and windows, which became the source of paper-cutting art in later generations. Ancient China paid special attention to the chicken, calling it the "bird of the five virtues". "Han Poems Biography" said that it has a crown on its head, which is Wende, a distance behind its feet to fight, and is a martial virtue; when the enemy dares to fight in front, it is brave; it is benevolence if it has food to greet its kind; and it is faith that it is a sign of faith when it is silent when it keeps vigil and reports the dawn every day.