phoenix + empress

[Petra Pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 60468

I wondered if Peg's sources say "emperor of 
the birds" or empress in re: to feng huang, 
the Chinese phoenix, and she replied:
> Actually, the reference to the Chinese
> phoenix refers to both sexes. 
> "Feng"=male(yin) "Huang"=female(yang) 
> In effect, the phoenix in Chinese
> tradition is two birds--both the male and
> the female are referred to in the same name.
> 
> My source was at: 
> http://www.avians.net/paragon/fenghuang.htm

While it's true, denotation-wise, that feng 
refers to the males (yang, not yin) of the 
species and huang refers to the females (yin), 
feng huang is so closely associated with the 
Chinese empresses (as opposed to the emperors) 
that I'm surprised at the translation of 
emperor instead of empress.

It's sort of like ladybugs.  Though there are 
male ladybugs, that species connotes the 
feminine.  :)

Peg:
> I suspect my memory about is playing tricks
> on me.  Or else I read the quote so long
> ago in some book that I haven't yet tracked
> down.

I've had this thought since my last post: your 
point stands, whether "king" or "emperor" or 
"queen" or "empress."  A showdown between the 
forces of evil (basilisk) and the forces of 
good (phoenix) will make for grand drama, no 
matter which translations of/synonyms for 
'sovereign' are used, no?

     *     *

Peg:
> I did track down some references to the
> "King of the Birds" in reference to the
> Phoenix.  They all seem to be in reference
> to Chinese folklore.

In case anyone is interested, I've put the 
"King of the Birds" in some context below.

Peg offers:
> I've kept the URL's for my citations,
> if anybody wants to do their own
> reading.  I expect that there are
> many more print references for 
> this type of info than online, but
> it's easier to share the online 
> material.

I'll take them!  Still got a week to go 
after all.  :)  BTW, have you looked at 
"A Dictionary of Fabulous Beasts" by 
Barber & Riches?  It's a very interesting 
read with a nice bibliography.  I was 
especially amused by the definition of 
the bicorne.

     *     *

Yours truly:
> In Chinese mythology, dragon and the
> phoenix often exist as a pair.  The dragon
> symbolizes all things yang (the energy
> usually associated with the male) while
> the phoenix symbolizes all thing yin
> (the energy usually associated with the
> female) when used to represent any
> metaphors involving two contrasting
> and/or complementary entities.

digger:
> So would that mean that Harry, being
> a toss-up between a slytherin 
> (dragon/snake) and a griffindor
> (phoenix), according to the Sorting Hat, 
> is a perfect blend of Yin and Yang?
> Sounds like thats good news for our 
> Teenage Eternal Hero.

Hmm...I don't know about that - rather 
difficult to determine just how deeply 
JKR delved into concepts of mythological 
beasts held by civilizations outside of 
Europe.  But I agree with you that Harry 
may have to find the way to achieve 
balance before order (!) can be restored.

But y'know, though the European dragon is 
associated with the snake, the Chinese 
dragon is not as much.  As are the cases 
with the tortoise (shelled creatures), the 
unicorn (four-legged creatures), and the 
phoenix (feathered creatures), the dragon 
reigns over its own group, the scaly 
creatures.  Snakes would be considered to 
be in the dragon's group of course but so 
would fish.  There's even an idiom that 
speaks of fish becoming a dragon though 
that's not so much a formula for dragon 
breeding as it is a figurative way to 
indicate a transformation from a lower to 
a higher form of existence or level of 
achievement {*}.

We may not be far enough along in the 
development of this story to know if JKR 
is blending these different mythological 
concepts...or if such a blend would be 
insightful.  Though so far, she's doing 
nicely in terms of reinventing the old 
and already well-known: I adore the idea 
of a phoenix procrastinating about dying.

Petra
a
n  :)

{*} Maybe this is why Magikarp evolves 
into Gyarados? <g>

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