Page 145 - Deydier UNDERSTANDING CHINESE ARCHAIC BRONZES

According to the variously translated ‘five-elements’, ‘five phases’,
‘five movements’ or ‘five processes’ 五行 theory upon which much of
ancient Chinese philosophy, geomancy or feng shui 風水, medicine etc.
are based, the ‘Vermilion Bird’ 朱雀, which many believe refers to the
phoenix 鳳凰, is the heavenly guardian of the southern direction, the
embodiment of the element ‘fire’, the hot season of summer and the
processes of blossoming and fruition, all phenomena which take place
in early-mid summer.

During the Shang 商 and early Zhou 周早期 periods, a very few vessels
were cast in the round in the shape of phoenixes standing on their
legs. Some fine examples of such bronze vessels are now conserved in
the Yale University Art Gallery, in the Victoria and Albert Museum in
London, and in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

th
th
Bird motifs, zun, Middle Western Zhou dynasty (circa 10 – 8 centuries B.C.)
Meiyintang Collection n° 193.
142 143