Fenghuang (original) (raw)

Fenghuang (鳳凰 pinyin: feng4 huang2), literally "Bird-Emperor", are mythological Chinese birds that reign over all other birds. The males are the Feng and the females the Huang; in modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is sometimes blurred into a single female entity. Fenghuang is also called "August Rooster" (鶤雞 hun4 ji1) or "Fire Bird" (火鳥 huo niao). While the Fenghuang does share some characteristics with the phoenix, the two are not identical, although the Fenghuang is often referred to as the Chinese phoenix.

In ancient China, they can often be found in the decorations of weddings or royalty, along with dragonss. This is because the Chinese considered the dragon and phoenix symbolic of blissful relations between husband and wife.