Phoenix Series

Chinese phoenixes— fèng huáng (鳳凰)—do not rise out of ashes like the Western phoenix, rather they are creatures of divine origin intertwined with countless Chinese legends dating all the way back to the creation of Earth, and reference to them is found on the earliest known Chinese language writings on oracle bones. Phoenixes appear in artwork, idioms, and even moral philosophy. Five parts of the phoenix’s body have been linked to Confucian values: the head representing virtue, the wings righteousness, the back propriety, the abdomen trustworthiness, and the chest benevolence.

Throughout Chinese history’s 5,000 years or so, the sighting of a phoenix has been considered a good omen foretelling future blessings, such as the rise to power of a virtuous emperor or the arrival of a great sage who will help expand people’s wisdom and raise their morality. In Chinese idioms, lóng fèng chéng xiáng (龍鳳呈祥) implies some turn of events has been so wonderful that it must have been accompanied by the appearance of a dragon or phoenix; and rén zhōng lóng fèng (人中龍鳳) is used to describe someone so amazing he or she stands out like a dragon or phoenix among ordinary people.