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Brown-earred Pheasant

Crossoptilon mantchuricum

Status: Vulnerable due to isolated populations, deforestation, and poaching

chinese mythology:

The Fenghuang bird is often called a phoenix, but it is a very different creature from the Ancient Greek mythological concept of a "phoenix" (a singular creature that dies in flame and is reborn). It was called the king of birds. In the Tang dynasty (618-906), a common decorative motif was of a Fenghuang circling peonies. The delicate feathered tail weaves playfully among the blooms. It was a symbol of harmony and prosperity, often used as the insignia of princesses.

The Fenghuang is a beautiful and immortal being that has a pheasant's head and body, peacock's tail, crane's legs, and swallow's wings. Sightings of it were seen as an omen of political harmony and world peace upon an Emperor's ascension. The Fenghuang encapsulates both female and male energies within itself, thus being a physical embodiment of tranquility, harmony, and of yin and yang in balance.

 

References:
Strassberg, Richard. A chinese Bestiary: Strange creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. University of california Press, 2002, plate LVII.

Statuette of Phoenix (Fenghuang). (n.d.). [Wrought iron]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://jstor.org/stable/community.34718614

Yoshida, M. (2014). Trade Stories: chinese Export Embroideries in the Metropolitan Museum. Metropolitan Museum Journal, 49(1), 165-185. https://doi.org/10.1086/680031