Page 112 - Chinese Porcelain Vol I, Galland

8o CHINESE PORCELAIN.

29 : " The a and im-
Jacquemart, p. fong-hoang, singular
mortal bird, lives in the highest regions of the air, and only-
men to announce to them events and
approaches happy pros-
It is its carunculated
perous reigns. easily recognized by
head, its neck surrounded by silky feathers, and its tail
"
of the and the
partaking Argus pheasant peacock (see Nos.
284, 290, 393).
It may be well to mention that in auction catalogues it is
referred to as the fong-hoa, or ho-ho bird. It is said originally
to have been the emblem of the emperors before they adopted
the and is now that of the Brides in
dragon, empresses.
China are allowed to wear a head-dress in the shape of a
fung-hwang.
"
Deagon.— Middle Kingdom," vol. i. p. 267 : " The lung,
or dragon, is a familiar object on articles made by the Chinese,
and furnishes a comparison among them for everything ter-
and ; and taken as the
rible, imposing, powerful being imperial
these ideas to his
coat-of-arms, consequently imparts — person
and state. There are three dragons the lung in the sky, the
U in the sea, and the kiau in the marshes. The first is the
authentic to the Chinese. It has
only species, according
the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, eyes of a rabbit, ears
of a scales of a
of a cow, neck of a snake, belly frog, carp,
claws of a hawk, and palm of a tiger. On each side of the
mouth are whiskers, and its beard contains a
bright pearl.
The breath is sometimes changed into water and sometimes
into fire, and its voice is like the jingling of copper pans.
The dragon of the sea occasionally ascends to heaven in
and is the ruler of all oceanic The
waterspouts, phenomena.
dragon is worshipped and feared by Chinese fishermen, and
the of all classes towards it is a modified
superstition probably
relic of the widespread serpent-worship of ancient times."
28 " Gigantic saurians, with four members
Jacquemart, p. :
armed with powerful claws, and terminated by a frightful
and toothed. several
head, scaly strongly They distinguish :
the long, dragon of heaven, a being especially sacred ; the hau,
dragon of the mountain ; and the li, dragon of the sea. The
dictionary of Khan-hy contains, at the word ' long,' the follow-
' is the of with feet and
ing description : It largest reptiles
scales it can make itself dark or luminous, subtle and thin, or
;