Page 204 - Christie's London Fine Chinese Ceramics Nov. 2019

The Phoenix - King of the Birds

Rosemary Scott, Senior International Academic
Consultant, Asian Art
The bird that dominates the decorative arts of China is the mythical
phoenix – the King of Birds, which is magnifcently represented
by the pair of intricately modelled, and brilliantly coloured birds
in the current sale. In Chinese mythology the phoenix has many
auspicious associations. It is one of the si ling – the creatures of the
four quarters – who represent each of the four cardinal directions.
The phoenix represents the South. It is sometimes referred to as
danfeng ‘red’ or ‘cinnabar’ phoenix because it is said that the bird
was born in the danxue Cinnabar Cave. It was believed that this
cave faced the sun and thus the phoenix represents the warmth
of the sun and encompasses the yang (male) principle of light,
warmth and righteousness.This association has also led to the
belief that the phoenix can infuence the birth of boy babies.There
are many depictions of a phoenix, or pair of phoenixes, surrounded
by many other birds. This emphasises the status of the phoenix as
the king of birds and gives rise to the phrases bainiao chaohuang
‘hundred birds paying court to the phoenix’, and bainiao chaowang
‘hundred birds paying homage to the king’.
As in the case of the qilin, it was believed that the phoenix would
only appear when China enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity. It
was also thought that the appearance of a phoenix portended the
rise of an able ruler or the birth of a great man. Legend states, for
example, that a phoenix appeared prior to the birth of Confucius.
The benevolence of the phoenix is underlined by the fact that it
does not eat other creatures, not even insects, but is thought to
eat bamboo seeds. This suggests that it eats infrequently since
bamboo famously fowers very rarely. Legend has it that the
favourite perch of the phoenix is the wutong Chinese parasol tree
(Firmiana simplex), which is sometimes used to provide a rebus for
‘together’ in decorative motifs.
The phoenix is also associated with feminine beauty and is the
symbol of the empress. The empress’ crown was traditionally
embellished with a phoenix, and phoenixes were often
embroidered on the robes of empresses. The long dragon and the
phoenix, as the senior and most auspicious of the animals and
birds, were often depicted together. The dragon being both the
symbol of the emperor and the mythical creature representing the
Eastern quadrant, was complemented by the phoenix, which was
both the symbol of the empress and represented the Southern
quadrant. Together these creatures also represent auspicious
omens longfeng chengxiang.
In some depictions of two phoenixes the male and female birds
- feng, the male phoenix, and huang, the female phoenix – are
diferentiated by the style of their long tails. One bird has normal
long tail feathers and the other has long scroll-like tail feathers.
However, in many depictions, such as the current pair of birds, no
distinction is made between male and female. When modelled in
three-dimensions the colours of the tail feathers appear to have
been chosen simply on aesthetic grounds, but elsewhere the tail
feathers appear in the fve colours of the fve cardinal virtues – ren
benevolence, yi righteousness, li propriety, zhi knowledge and xin
sincerity – all of which are associated with the phoenix. When a
pair of phoenixes appears together, they are often shown either
singing (as the current pair appear to be doing) or fying fenghuang
yufei, and this ofers the wish shuangfeng heming ‘May you have a
harmonious marriage’.

202