Phoenix is an auspicious bird in people's minds and a symbol of world peace. The ancients believed that when there was peace and prosperity, there was a phoenix flying. Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Fengqi and Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Fengfeng are the same, which means that the wind and spiritual power are everywhere; Burning is the word of the emperor, which means supreme and great.

Phoenix is also a symbol of China's imperial power and is often used with dragons. Phoenix belongs to the dragon and is used for the queen's concubines. The combination of dragon and phoenix is the totem with the most China characteristics. There are a lot of similar shapes in folk art, and phoenix also represents yin. Although phoenix is divided into male and female, it is more generally considered as feminine. "Phoenix" and "Phoenix" are common in women's names.

Phoenix is considered to be the noblest bird and the king of birds (although she is fictional), and there is a saying that "a hundred birds fly at the phoenix".

According to the theory of yin-yang and five elements, the phoenix is red and the five elements belong to fire, which is the image of the southern seven-night Zhu bird. It is also one of the four gods (Li Yun, Dragon, Phoenix, Kirin and Turtle) that China people call.

In the minds of China people, "Phoenix" has been the most important auspicious and magical thing in legend since ancient times. It is said that the phoenix can be reborn in the fire, symbolizing beauty, wisdom and good luck.

I. Introduction to Phoenix

Phoenix, also known as "Phoenix Emperor", is the king of birds in ancient legends. The male is called "Phoenix" and the female is called "Phoenix". It has always been called Phoenix, and it is also called Dan bird, firebird, stork, hawksbill and so on. It is usually used to symbolize auspiciousness, phoenix and Qi Fei, and it is a symbol of auspiciousness and harmony. It has been an important part of China culture since ancient times.

Like dragons, the image of the phoenix has become more and more complicated. At first, it was only recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas that "there was a bird, which looked like a chicken and was named Phoenix Emperor". There are even records of eating, such as Wild West Sutra: "Wild fields, the eggs of phoenix birds are food, and nectar is drinking", and the herbal medicine of Zheng says that "all vassal countries eat chicken eggs and nectar is drinking". Feng Sui was listed as one of the eight treasures in Song Dynasty. But in the end, before and after the forest, there was a deer, a snakehead, a turtle's back and a swallow's beak, which became a sacred object composed of a variety of birds and animals.

Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the dragon has gradually become the symbol of the emperor, empresses began to call it Phoenix, and the image of Phoenix has gradually become feminine.

There are five kinds of phoenixes, namely five phoenixes. "Pearl of Primary School" Volume 10 says: "Phoenix is like five, with five colors of red; The yellow race is awkward; Young people are jealous; Purple people are partridges, and white people are swans. " The modern network has a version of lying and misinformation to people today, and it is a big mistake to regard Suzaku as the red in the phoenix.

Huai Nanzi: "Yu Jia gave birth to a flying dragon, a flying dragon gave birth to a phoenix emperor, a phoenix emperor gave birth to a phoenix bird, and a phoenix bird gave birth to a vulgar bird. Anyone with feathers was born in an ordinary bird. " People believe that Phoenix is the son of Feilong, but Sanzang said, "Jiayu gave birth to Ying Long. Ying Long gave birth to Emperor Phoenix ",thinking that Phoenix is the descendant of Ying Long.

Second, the value and significance of Phoenix

1, Phoenix is a symbol of "luxury, invasion, enterprising and peace"

Phoenix is an auspicious bird in people's minds and a symbol of world peace. The ancients thought that when the Millennium came, there would be a phoenix flying. The Oracle Bone Inscriptions of the wind and the Oracle Bone Inscriptions of the phoenix were the same, indicating the omnipresence and spiritual strength of the wind. Burning is the word of the emperor, which means supreme.

Phoenix is a symbol of love.

Phoenix can bring happiness and auspiciousness to people, and naturally it also includes the happiness of love. It can be seen that the phoenix has the meaning of symbolizing love. Later, it was used by people to congratulate a happy marriage and to compare the harmony between husband and wife. The tang dynasty bronze mirror has a picture of Mei Fong's concentric knot, that is, the concentric knot on Feng's mouth symbolizes happy love to show that husband and wife love each other with one heart.

It can be seen that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the knot of one heart symbolized the love of husband and wife. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was also popular to make a promise with Feng Chai as a gift. Feng Chai was a kind of jewelry worn by women. When men and women are engaged, the woman often gives Feng Chai to the man to show that "in the Ming Dynasty, when men and women got married, the dress worn by the woman was also equipped with a phoenix decorated with jewels. In modern times, people still regard the phoenix as a symbol of love. When they get married, they use phoenix dragon candles and cut and paste phoenix patterns.

3. Phoenix has the symbolic meaning of "harmony"

In China culture, the image of Phoenix not only represents the harmony of natural things, but also represents the harmony of human society. Phoenix's "five colors" were later regarded as the symbol of "morality, righteousness, courtesy, benevolence and faith" in ancient society. "Secondly, since ancient times, Phoenix has represented beauty and harmony among people. Loyalty of love.

In addition, Phoenix is the spiritual and material carrier of the harmonious concept. From the development point of view, it is a diversified product, based on the combination of witchcraft and bird totem, which combines the totems worshipped by different times and tribes. Secondly, it is the unity of opposites. At the same time, it can be said that the harmonious concept of Phoenix culture covers all aspects of social and material life. The use of the image feature "harmony" of phoenix often appears in idioms about phoenix.

Phoenix is a symbol of "strength"

In the pre-Qin period, the pattern of phoenix appeared on jade and bronze, which was a symbol of power. Later, it gradually became the exclusive decoration of the royal family, appeared on various palace buildings and utensils, and was maintained in the form of etiquette.

Phoenix is the spiritual totem of the Chinese nation.

Like dragons, Phoenix is an integral part of China's long-standing traditional culture. With the progress of society, the symbolic meaning of Phoenix has also changed accordingly. People no longer regard Phoenix as a symbol of autocratic imperial power, but as a symbol of national culture. In the primitive painted pottery culture of China about six or seven thousand years ago, the embryonic form of the image of the phoenix appeared.

Feng Huangwen also appeared on Shang bronzes more than 3,500 years ago. As a result, many artistic treasures with the theme of Phoenix have been created in the decorative arts of China. These works of art with the theme of phoenix are the representatives of traditional art and reflect the aesthetic taste of the Chinese nation. From the perspective of dragon and phoenix art, the artistic image of phoenix gives people great spiritual strength. Like the dragon, it is a symbol of the Chinese nation. In other words, the Chinese nation is also a descendant of the Phoenix.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Phoenix