Hold a celebration ceremony. The music was hosted by Solanum nigrum, and birds and animals sang and danced at the ceremony. Finally, a phoenix came-
"Xiao is less than 90%, and the Phoenix Emperor comes to the instrument." Confucius said, "The spirit bird is also called the phoenix, and the mother is also called the emperor." Zheng Xuan's note: "Yi, say."
Breeding horses. "We pay attention to.
Yes, here, the phoenix is regarded by the ancients as a symbol of auspicious birds. The so-called "coming to the instrument" was interpreted by Zheng Xuan as "riding a horse"
"。 The case "yi" has the ancient sound of "Russia", which is close to the sound of "even". Therefore, Zheng Xuan's interpretation of musical instruments is "even", that is, the so-called "multiplication"
) Horse "means in pairs. But according to the literal meaning of Shangshu, I think this "instrument" is true.
When pronounced "dance" (musical instrument,
The sounds of ancient dances are also related. ) Feng Laiyi, that is, Feng Dance. Therefore, I am happy to say: "Yu! Rock, rock,
Animals dance! "
In fact, in earlier pre-Qin literature, the phoenix appeared as an auspicious symbol and a dancing god. The Classic of Mountains and Seas
Nan Shanjing: "There is a bird that looks like a crane ... called Phoenix. ..... It is also a bird, drinking and eating, singing and dancing, and watching.
Then all is well. ""Phoenix sings and Phoenix dances. " There are three kinds of colorful birds, one is the imperial bird and the other is the imperial bird.
Luan bird, a phoenix bird. "(
Wild West Sutra) Poem Volume 1: Feng Huang Yu Fei with Plump Feathers (this is an archaic word, and the word "mouth" is used instead. ),
And Fu Yutian. ..... Yi, in Jeremy goldkorn. The phoenix tree was born in the morning. "Mao Chuan:" Word of mouth (this is archaic.
Word, and use the "mouth" symbol instead. ), feather sound also. Also, all the birds. All the birds come to the Phoenix Emperor. Pass the Phoenix Emperor on to many people, yes.
Phoenix and sheep are flying. Baihuguan
Yun: At the time of the Yellow Emperor, the phoenix covered the sun, so there will be many tourists. "
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The question we are facing now is, are all these legends about the phoenix just a myth or a possibility?
Historical truth? In other words, did the phoenix really have a real animal prototype in history? over here
This problem, like the dragon problem, was often denied by academic circles in the past. But we can't pay attention.
To, in the Oracle Bone Inscriptions of Shang dynasty.
The following records were found:
"JiaYin bligh, hum net, phoenix. Bing Chen won five. " (A 3 1 12)。
(For the explanation, see Oracle Bone Inscriptions Forest of Steles on page 324).
According to Yu, this piece of Oracle Bone Inscriptions means: I ordered a net to catch birds and caught five phoenixes on the festival day.
. "Because the net is used, you get a phoenix."
From this perspective, in the Shang Dynasty, there were indeed phoenix birds in China. So this Oracle Bone Inscriptions is just an isolated case? number
In the early inscriptions of "Zhong Ding", we can also read the following records:
"... Phoenix was born to the king. "
The word "born phoenix" mentioned in the article, Guo Moruo also concluded that it refers to the living phoenix ("Two Weeks of Jin Hua Lu")
Textual research, Zhong Ding). On this basis, no matter Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen, there are materials that accurately show that until the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.
At that time, Phoenix was a rare but not nonexistent bird.
After the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, the phoenix was completely deified as a divine bird. But it is worth noting that in the historical records of Qin and Han Dynasties,
There are some records about the appearance of Phoenix. For example, left 17:
"My ancestors lacked the land of Wuzhi, and the phoenix bird was suitable, so it was based on the birdmaster and the name of the bird."
According to "Hanshu" records, when the phoenix counted in the Han Dynasty, the bird was "five or six feet tall".
Historical records of Guangwu at the end of Han Dynasty: In the seventeenth year of Jianwu, Wufeng Emperor was discovered in Yingchuan County, Shaanxi Province. Annotate and quote "The History of Dongguan Han Ji"
Say, "Phoenix is eight feet tall". According to Biography of Fang Jing: "The Phoenix Emperor is tall."
The Han Dynasty was an era when prophetic superstition prevailed, and many strange things recorded in historical books were often not enough for credit investigation. But I'm afraid I'm
Scientists can't think that there won't be any credible ingredients at all. At least the physical characteristics described by Qin and Han people have one pole.
The striking similarity between * * * lies in the unusual size of the phoenix-from five or six feet to more than ten feet high.
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Let's take a more comprehensive look at the ancient records about the shape of the phoenix.
"Er Ya Shi Bird": "Phoenix, its female emperor." Guo Pu's Note: "Phoenix, Raptor. The head of a chicken, the neck of a snake, the chin of a swallow, a turtle.
Back, five colors, its height is six feet. "
Said: "Phoenix, the god bird is also. The old man said: the image of the phoenix, before the rainbow, after the scales, the neck of the snake, the tail of the fish, the sound of the stork.
Dragon pattern, turtle back, swallow jaw, chicken beak. Five-color preparations, out of the country of oriental gentlemen, soar beyond the four seas and drink across Kunlun.
Pillars, feathers and weak water, dusk and windy spots, the world is at peace. From birds to sounds. There are tens of thousands of birds, so they think they are friends.
Party figures. Interpretation of "Er Ya Yi"
Interpretation: "Hongqian, Xuanye. The latter is rich. Snake neck, Wan Ye. Fishtail, Qi Ye. The sound of storks is also vertebral. Yuanyang and Drake-(China) love birds
Thinker, Zhang Ye. Dragon pattern, text also. Takaya is on the turtle's back. Yan jaw, Fang also. "
"Han Shi Zhuan": "It is enough for the bear to say yes and the woman to say yes. The faint sound is solid, the sound in the morning is obvious, and the sound in the daytime is guaranteed.
, for the item, standing. "("Thai Yu Pinglan "cited)
Li Lingshi's poem: "Gorkon, Feng Huangming, can't fly with wings".
"Ruiying Map": "Phoenix doesn't peck insects or break grass."
A legend about the phoenix is also recorded in the biography of Korean poetry:
"The yellow emperor acceded to the throne. Thank God, Xiu De is kind, there is peace in space, but there is no Phoenix emperor. Just think about its image, Ren Su.
When I woke up in the morning, I asked the old man,' What about the phoenix elephant?' Days old to yue:
Fufeng, Qianhong, Houscales, Fishbone's Neck, Dragon Tortoise. Swallow chin and chicken beak. Virtue, benevolence, loyalty,
Moral, small sound gold, big sound drum. Stretch your neck, flap your wings, prepare in colorful colors, the eight winds ring, and the gas responds to the rain. Food is the quality, and drinking is the instrument.
. Go to the beginning of the text and come to Jiacheng. Only the phoenix can reach the sky, respond to the spirit of the earth and observe the five tones and nine virtues. There is a saying in the world, such as phoenix nirvana.
One of them is Phoenix. Defeng elephant
The second is a phoenix, and the third is a phoenix. The four phoenix elephants are under the phoenix spring and autumn. If you get the fifth phoenix image, you will lose your body.
Live in it.
The yellow emperor said:' in the play, allow it! "How dare I?" So the Yellow Emperor, dressed in yellow and wearing a yellow crown, was lent to the palace-Phoenix.
Is to cover the sun. The yellow emperor went down to the east and west, bowed again and said,' the emperor descended from heaven and didn't dare to disobey his orders.' Feng naizhi
I can't go to the Emperor East Garden where I gather the Indus and eat the Emperor Bamboo. "
There are obviously many absurd elements in this legend. However, it can be noted that the shape of the phoenix described by Tian Lao is different from that described in Shuowen.
The quoted "Tian Lao Shuo" obviously comes from the same source. Regarding Phoenix's so-called "virtue, benevolence and loyalty", at first glance,
It's quite puzzling (although this statement was widely circulated in ancient times).
In this regard, there is an explanation in Bao Puzi:
"MuRenQing. Phoenix's head is green, so it's called Dai Ren.
Gold is benevolent, and this is white. Phoenix has a white neck, so it is also righteous.
As a ritual, fire is red. Phoenix's mouth is red, so it is called a negative gift.
Water is smart, black, and chicken breasts are black, so I still know.
The earth is like a letter, and it is yellow. Phoenix is yellow, so it is said to be a letter. "
On this basis, the metaphysical words of the Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty are only based on the five elements of Confucianism and do not affect all parts of the phoenix's body.
This is just a description of the same color:
-The head is blue,
-The neck is white,
-The beak is red,
-Chest and back are black.
-Toes and claws are yellow.
Look at the above records, all of them are people who have never seen a real phoenix since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and all kinds of biographies about the phoenix are compiled by predecessors.
Go ahead. There are many absurd and illusory elements in it. For example, the so-called "crossing Kunlun, drinking the mainstay, breaking feathers and weak water" in Shuowen,
The saying of "soaring beyond the four seas" obviously comes from the famous philosophical fable about "Kun Peng" in "Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour".
. But it is worth noting that this
Legend seems to point out that the phoenix is an animal that moves back and forth from northwest to southeast. Feng Huangming's View in The Biography of Han Shi
The so-called series of strange statements, Wang Niansun, a famous scholar in Qing Dynasty, once pointed out:
"A bird's song is different from its joints, its plural is louder, even its voice is different, and it is written in rhyme. By adding languages
Decoration, involving fake things, don't take what you know. "
However, if we remove the magical and incredible elements in the legend, we can learn from the ancients' views on the shape of the phoenix.
In the description, the following impressions can be filtered out:
1, the phoenix bird is very tall, about six to ten feet.
Phoenix bird has a soft and slender neck (snake neck)
3. The cockatoo's back protrudes ("the turtle's back is very long")
Phoenix has a beak like a chicken and a chin like a swallow.
5. Phoenix birds have patterns on their feathers.
6. The tail hair of the phoenix bird is forked like a fish.
7. Phoenix birds feed on plants (bamboo roots).
8. Phoenix birds sing different sounds. (The man says "namely" and the woman says "completely". )
9. Phoenix birds tend to flock, and hundreds of them come.
10, Phoenix bird is not good at flying.
1 1, Phoenix Bird Cave. (Living in "Danxue" and "Fengxue")
12, Phoenix bird has high feet (like a crane), arrogant walking gait and is good at dancing. (Phoenix bird alias "",word.
From "",Xu Kai notes: "Walking slowly." )
From this, we can ask a question-from the perspective of paleontology, did China ever have the above?
Features, and a bird that our ancestors worshipped?
The answer is that it does exist.
This kind of bird is a big ostrich.