The Phoenix ("Phuong" or "Phung") is an imposing bird, belonging to the same family as the phoenix of Occidental mythology, although only the latter is said to be reborn from its ashes. In Oriental mythology, the phoenix is considered the paragon of virtue and grace. It is for this reason that queens used the phoenix as their principle emblem, while emperors used the dragon. Learned men make a distinction between "phuong" which is the male phoenix, and "hoang", which is the female.
The phoenix, as conceived by Oriental imagination, has a gallinaceous bill, neck of a snake, breast of a swallow, back of a tortoise, and tail of a fish. It is able to stand on the waves of the sea, owing to a supernatural power which allows it to a soar from the East, fly mightily over the Con Lon mountains, quench its thirst in the torrent of De Tru, and bathe its wings in the sea of Nhuo Thuy, before taking a rest on the Don Huyet mountain.
The phoenix is full of movement, grace, pride and nobility; the wings stretch out widely with their rigid quills, the caudal the feathers light up in flame, and the feet are the nervously arched. Clenched in its bill are either two scrolls or a square box with long bands containing sacred books.
According to tradition, the song of the phoenix includes all the five notes of the traditional pentatonic musical scale; its feathers include the five fundamental colours and its body is a composite of the six celestial bodies: the head symbolises the sky; the eyes, the sun; back, the moon; the wings, the wind; feet, the earth; and the tail, the planets. The phoenix perches only on very high places, preferably on the Ngo Dong tree which is used for making musical instruments.
The phoenix appears only in peaceful and prosperous times, and hides itself when there is trouble. Thus, it is the sign of peace and the symbol of concord.
