Complete Collection of Chinese Auspicious Decorative Patterns: Auspicious Birds and Plants

Author: Qian Zhengsheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The phoenix is a mythical auspicious bird in Chinese culture, regarded as the foremost among all birds and one of the Four Spirits. The phoenix and the dragon together form a unique cultural tradition of China. The phrase "dragon flies and phoenix dances" represents the peak of ancient totem worship. During the development of dragon-and-phoenix culture, the dragon was exclusively associated with males, while the phoenix was exclusively associated with females. Regarding the origin of the phoenix, the Great Dai's Book of Changes states: "Among the 360 feathered creatures, the phoenix is the most noble." The Spring and Autumn Annals of Kongzi says: "The phoenix is the essence of fire." The Spring and Autumn Annals of the Origin of Destiny notes: "Fire and Li form the phoenix." This means the phoenix is born from the refined essence of the fire element in the Five Elements. The Records of Auspicious Signs in the Southern Song Dynasty describes it more specifically: "With a snake's head, swan's beak, turtle's back, turtle's belly, crane's head, chicken's beak, goose's front, fish's tail, blue head, paired wings, heron's feet, and mandarin duck's cheeks." The Outer Commentary on the Han Poems also states: "The phoenix resembles a goose in front and a unicorn behind, with a snake's neck and a turtle's tail, dragon-like patterns on its body, and a swan's beak." Its head resembles the sky, its eyes the sun, its back the moon, its wings the wind, its feet the earth, and its tail the celestial cords. Thus, it is a spiritual creature of heaven and earth. According to ancient descriptions, the phoenix's appearance resembles that of a peacock but incorporates features of other animals. Its colors are vibrant and varied, and its feathers are intricately patterned. The patterns on its head symbolize virtue, those on its wings propriety, those on its back righteousness, those on its chest benevolence, and those on its belly trustworthiness. Therefore, the phoenix's body represents the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, virtue, and trustworthiness.
It is said that in terms of behavior, the phoenix does not peck at living insects, does not break living grass, does not live in groups, does not fly erratically, does not eat unless it is bamboo, does not drink unless it is from a sacred spring, and does not perch unless it is on a tung tree. Thus, there is the saying "the phoenix perches on the tung tree."
P1 The crane holds an important position in Chinese culture and is known as the "first-class bird," the auspicious bird next in rank to the phoenix. Cranes belong to the wading bird family Gruidae, including red-crowned cranes, sandhill cranes, and hooded cranes, among others. They have long been regarded as the leaders of the feathered tribe. The Flower Mirror records: "The crane, also known as the immortal bird, is the leader of the feathered tribe. It comes in white, yellow, black, and also grayish-green, but the most esteemed in the world are white cranes." Ancients often used the white crane to symbolize virtuous and capable individuals, referring to those who cultivate themselves and act with integrity as "crane-ming scholars." Associated with this are auspicious patterns like "one qin and one crane," which signify incorruptible officials who do not seek wealth or corruption. Another auspicious pattern is "first-class at court" or "first-class promotion," with the former depicting a crane standing on a rock at the edge of the tide and the latter showing a crane flying among the clouds. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the patterns on official robes for first-class civil servants were cranes.
After being etherealized, the crane was also used to represent the relationship between father and son. The Book of Changes, Zhongfu states: "The crane cries in the shade, and its children respond." This means the son should follow the father's voice, which extends to absolute obedience to parental will. This aligns with the traditional ethical norms of the father-son relationship, hence adopted by feudal political theorists. The crane symbolizes the father-son relationship because when the crane cries, the young cranes also cry. The crane thus became a symbol of the moral order of father and son, with "the crane's cry and the son's response" representing the father-son relationship. A painting composed of cranes, phoenixes, mandarin ducks, herons, and yellow geese symbolizes the five social relationships among people. Anciently, there was a "chart of ethical relationships," also known as the "five ethical relationships chart."
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