They have a richly ornamented stature, and are as beautiful as goddesses, and as majestic as pharaohs, and they are symbols of the resurrection of Osiris in the world. They are the symbols of the earthly resurrection of Osiris, and every certain number of years they are resurrected in burning flames, as the king of the underworld is resurrected.
In the theological system of Heliopolis, all the processes of "rebirth" are concentrated in one image, which is summarized and expressed by the Bennu bird, the legendary phoenix.
This phoenix, in a time long apart, "made a nest of fragrant coarse twigs and spices, and then set it on fire; it burned itself to ashes in a blazing fire, and then a new phoenix flew out of the burning flames, and it took the ashes of its dead 'father' and put them in a box painted with the name 'Father'. into an egg coated with 'myrrh' and flew with this egg to Heliopolis to place it in the altar of the Sun God."
There is another way of telling this story, "This dying phoenix flew to Heliopolis, where it threw itself into the burning altar of the sun god, with the result that a new phoenix flew out of the altar, which, in the Egyptian view, was immortal."
Also, the capstone or small pyramid placed on top of all the pyramids was called "ben ben" in Ancient Egyptian, and was also thought to represent a symbol of the bird Bennu [and thus was seen as a symbol of immortality and rebirth]. These capstones were modeled after the original Benben stone, which was supposed to be a conical, "correctly oriented" meteorite. It is said that "it fell from the sky" and has been preserved at Heliopolis ever since, where it was placed on top of the "Phoenix Tower" of Heliopolis. Today the capstone of the Great Pyramid is gone [from natural erosion], and the Benbenite of Heliopolis disappeared from the world during the reign of the Greeks ......
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The Legendary Phoenix2006-11-10 14:35 Because this is a legend in itself, the stories vary. would be different. Just like Guanyin was male in India and became female when it was transmitted to China.
Generally speaking, if you put the phoenix and the phoenix together, the phoenix is the male and the phoenix is the female. If you put the phoenix and the dragon together, the dragon is male and the phoenix is female.
The earliest record of a phoenix seen today is probably in the book Shangshu - Yiji. The book recounts a celebration after Dayu's water control
A celebration was held. The Kui Long presided over the music, and birds and animals sang and danced during the ceremony. At the end, a phoenix also came -
"Xiao Shao Jiucheng, the phoenix emperor came to the ceremony." Kong Chuan: "Spirit bird also, the male said for the phoenix, the female said Huang." Zheng Xuan note: "Yi, said its
phase multiplier." What we notice
is that here, the phoenix was regarded by ancient dwellers as a divine bird symbolizing auspiciousness. The phrase "来仪' is interpreted by Zheng Xuan as "乘匹
". The ancient sound of "yi" is "俄", which is close to the sound of "even". Therefore, Zheng Xuan interpreted Yi as "even", that is, the so-called "Cheng (乘
)匹", that is, the meaning of pairs. However, according to the Shangshu, I think that the character "Yi" should be read as "Dance" (the ancient sounds of "Yi" and "Dance" are also similar). The phoenix comes to the ceremony, i.e., the phoenix comes to dance. Therefore, in the following text, Kui happily said, "Yu! I hit the stone and beat the stone,
and all the beasts dance!"
In fact, the phoenix appeared as a kind of auspiciousness and a dancing god in the earlier pre-Qin literature. The Classic of Mountains and Seas
-Nan Shan Jing: "There is a bird, its shape is like a crane ...... name is the phoenix. ...... is also a bird that drinks and eats from itself, sings and dances, and when it is seen
the world is at peace." "The luan bird sings to itself, and the phoenix bird dances to itself." (The Great Desert Western Scripture) "There are three colorful birds, one is said to be the Imperial Bird, one is said to be the
Luan Bird, and one is said to be the Phoenix Bird." (
The Great Desert Western Scripture) "Poetry - Volume A": "phoenix in flight, mouth mouth its feathers (this is the ancient Chinese character, and "mouth" charm instead.)
Also Fu in the sky. ......The phoenix is singing, in his high hill. Sycamore is born, in his sunrise." Mao Chuan: "Mouth mouth (this is the ancient form of
characters, and "mouth" Fu instead.). The sound of the feather is also. The sound of feathers is also heard. All the birds come here to admire Emperor Feng. It is said that the phoenix emperor to many, is
phoenix with the group fly.
Tong of the White Tiger
Yun: At the time of the Yellow Emperor, the phoenix covered the sun and arrived, is to come must be numerous also."
Two
The question we are now faced with is whether these various legends about the phoenix are just a myth or a possible
historical reality? In other words, is the phoenix a real animal in history?
This question, like the question of the dragon, is one that academics have tended to dismiss in the past. But we can't help but notice
that there was
a record in the Shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions that reads:
"In the first year of the year, I called out to the net, and I got a phoenix. Cchen, obtained five." (A 3112).
(For an explanation, see Yu Shingo's "Oracle Bone Characters", p. 324)
According to Yu Shingo, the meaning of this oracle bone inscription is that the king of the Shang dynasty instructed Chen Ming to catch birds with a net, and caught five phoenixes on the day of the third month
. "Since the net was used to catch the phoenixes, the catch was a raw phoenix."
So it seems that during the Shang Dynasty, there were indeed phoenix birds in China. So is this oracle bone inscription just a single piece of evidence? No.
In the early gold inscription of the Middle Tripod, we can also read the following:
"...... returned to give birth to a phoenix in the king."
The word "phoenix" mentioned in the text, Guo Moruo has also concluded that it refers to a live phoenix (Zhongding, "Two Weeks of Jinwen Rhetoric", "The Great Catalogue of Jinwen Rhetoric"
Kaoyue"). Accordingly, there are materials in both oracle bone inscriptions and gold inscriptions that show conclusively that the phoenix was a rare but not non-existent bird until the time of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
.
After the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, the phoenix was completely deified as a spiritual bird. However, it is worth noting that in the Qin-Han historical records,
the phoenix still appears in the records from time to time. For example, in the 17th year of the Zuo Zhuan (左传昭17年):
"我商祖少吴挚之立地，凤鸟适至，故紀于鸟师而鸟名。"
And the phoenix is also known as the bird of prey.
According to the "Han Shu" records, the phoenix in the Han Dynasty, the body of the bird, "five, six feet high".
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Guangwu Ji: Jianwu seventeen years, there are five phoenix Huang see in Yingchuan of Shaanxi County. Note cited "Dongguan Hanji"
said: "phoenix eight feet high". And according to "Jingfang Yi Chuan": "The phoenix emperor is ten feet two high."
The two Han Dynasty is the era of prophecy and superstition, the history of many auspicious and strange things are often not enough to believe. But I'm afraid
we can't assume that there won't be some credible elements in them. At least the Qin and Han people depicted the physical characteristics, there is a very
Can pay attention to the **** the same, which is the phoenix body size of the strange large - from the height of five, six feet up to more than a zhang.
Three
Let's examine more fully the ancient accounts of the phoenix's form.
Er Ya - Interpretation of Birds: "The phoenix, its female emperor." Guo Pu's note: "The phoenix, the Ruiying bird. Chicken head, snake neck, swallow jaw, turtle
back, five colored, six feet high."
Shuo Wen: "Phoenix, God bird. Tian Lao said: the phoenix of the image is also, before the Hong, after the scale, snake neck, fish tail, stork voice ducks think
, dragon pattern, turtle back, swallow jaws, chicken beak. Five colors are ready to lift, out of the eastern gentleman's country, soaring beyond the four seas, over the Kunlun, drinking
Mainstay, Maundy feather weak water, twilight stay in the wind cave, see the world's great peace. From the bird, the mortal voice. The phoenix flock of birds from to ten thousand, so thought the word peng
party." "Er Ya wing" explanation
Interpretation: "Hong former, Xuan also. The latter, the latter Lin, is also Feng. The serpent's neck, wan. Fish tail, Qi also. The stork's voice, vertebrae. Duck
Those who think, Zhang also. The dragon pattern, Wen also. The turtle's back is also a dragon. Those with swallow jaws, square also."
Hanshi Wai Zhuan: "The male phoenix song is said to be namely namely, the female is said to be foot foot. Dusky chirping is said to be solid, morning chirping is said to be hair chirping, day chirping is said to protect the chapter
, lifting chirping is said to be on the Xiang, set chirping is said to return to the Chang." ("Taiping Yuban" cited)
Han Li Ling poem: "phoenix song highoka, have wings is not good to fly".
Ruiying Tu: "The phoenix does not peck at living insects or break living grass."
This legend about the phoenix is also recorded in the Extraordinary Biography of Han Shi:
"The Yellow Emperor took the throne to bestow favors. Undertake heaven together, cultivate virtue, only benevolence is condescending, the peace of the universe, not seen the phoenix emperor. Only think of its image, the long-standing
Mystery of the morning, is the old man and asked the sky said: 'How the phoenix image?' Tian Lao said:
'The phoenix, before the Hong, after the scale, snake neck and fish tail, dragon and tortoise body. Swallow jaw but chicken beak. Dai De, Negative Benevolence, Embracing Loyalty,
Holding Righteousness, Small Sound of Gold, Large Sound of Drums. The neck is prolonged, the wings are full of color, the eight winds are chirped, and the air responds to the rain. The food is of good quality, and the drink is of good taste
. It is the first of its kind in the world, and it is the first of its kind in the world. The phoenix is the only one that can communicate with the blessings of heaven and the spirit of the earth, and it is the only one that has the right to listen to the five sounds and the nine virtues. If the world has a way, and the phoenix is one of the images
, then the phoenix is one of the things. If you have the phoenix image
two, then the phoenix will fly, and if you have the phoenix image three, then the phoenix will gather. The fourth of the phoenix is the phoenix under the spring and fall. If you have the fifth phoenix image, then the phoenix has no body
to live in.
The Yellow Emperor said: 'In the theater, allow! How dare I with it?' So the yellow emperor is wearing yellow clothes, wearing yellow coronet, fasting in the palace, the phoenix
is the sun and arrived. Huang Di descended on the east step, west face, bowed again, bowed his head and said: 'Heavenly blessings, I do not dare not to fulfill the order.' The phoenix is stopped
Di East Garden, set the emperor sycamore, eat the emperor bamboo fruit, no body not go."
There is obviously a lot of absurdity in this legend. However, it can be noted that the form of the phoenix depicted by Tianlao is clearly the same as the "Tianlao's saying" quoted in the Shuowen (说文)
. The phoenix's claim that it "wears virtue, carries benevolence, repays loyalty and holds on to righteousness" is at first glance
quite puzzling (however, this claim was widely circulated in ancient times).
There is an explanation for this in "Hug Park Zi":
"The wood acts as benevolence and is green. The phoenix head is green, so it is also called Dai Ren.
Gold acts as righteousness, as white. The neck of the phoenix is white, so it is said to be tasseled with righteousness.
Fire acts as rites, as red. The mouth of the phoenix is red; therefore, it is said to be negative.
Water acts as wisdom and is black. The phoenix's chest is black, so it is said to be still knowing.
Earth acts as faith and is yellow. The phoenix is yellow under the feet, so it is said to fulfill faith."
Accordingly, those mysterious sayings of the Han Dynasty scribes were nothing more than a depiction of the different
colors of the phoenix's body parts using the Confucian symbols of the five elements. Namely:
-- The head is greenish,
-- The neck is white,
-- The beak is ruddy,
-- black coloration of the chest and back,
-- yellow coloration of the toes and claws.
These records are all collected by people who have not seen the real phoenix after the Qin and Han Dynasties, and they are all about various rumors about the phoenix
sayings of the previous generations. There is no lack of absurdity and delusion in them. For example, the so-called "over the Kunlun, drink pillar, Maundy weak water",
"soaring beyond the four seas", apparently from the "Zhuangzi - elimination of remote travel" in the famous philosophical fable about "Kunpeng". " in the famous philosophical fable
. But it is worth noting that this
legend seems to point to the phoenix as an animal that migrates back and forth from northwest to southeast. In response to a series of strange claims about the phoenix's song
in Han Shi Wai Zhuan, Wang Niansun, a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once pointed out:
"A bird's song is different in terms of the foot and the joints, but also in terms of the number of changes in its sound, and even in response to the weather and the sound, and the writing of a harmonious rhyme.
The language is added
decorated, the matter involves falsehoods, the knowledge of the people do not want to take also."
But if you take out the legend of those magical and unbelievable ingredients, we from the ancients for the form of the phoenix
description, but can be filtered out of the following impressions:
1, the phoenix bird is very high in form, about six feet to a ten feet.
2. The phoenix bird has a soft and slender neck (snake's neck)
3. The back of the phoenix bird is bulging ("The back of the tortoise is also bulging."
4. The phoenix bird's beak is like a chicken's, and its jaws are like those of a swallow.
5. The phoenix bird has patterns on its feathers.
6. The tail feathers of the phoenix bird are forked like a fish.
7. The phoenix bird feeds on plants (bamboo roots).
8. The male and female cockatoos have different sounds. (The male said "namely namely", the female said "foot foot".)
9, the phoenix bird is good to gather as a group, to come into the hundreds.
10, the phoenix bird is not good at flying.
11. The phoenix bird lives in a cave. (Residing in "Dan Cave" and "Wind Cave")
12. The phoenix bird has very high feet (like a crane), and walks arrogantly and is good at dancing. (Phoenix bird alias " ", the word
from " ", xu kingland note: " , walking Shu Chi also.")
From this we can ask a question - from the point of view of paleontology, did there exist in ancient China with the above
characteristics, but also worshiped by the ancestors of a bird?
The answer is that it did exist.
-This bird, the great ostrich.