The Fenghuang — Chinese Phoenix

The Chinese phoenix is not the European phoenix — it does not burn and rise from its own ashes. The Fenghuang is the divine bird that appears only in times of peace and prosperity, whose presence signals the arrival of a virtuous ruler. It has the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the tail of a fish, the stripes of a dragon, and the patterns of a tortoise. Where the dragon is imperial yang, the Fenghuang is imperial yin — and together they govern the cosmos. It appears on the empress's robes. It sings only one song. When you hear it, everything is right with the world.

These signs carry the five-colored Fenghuang, the paired dragon and phoenix, and the harmony of the supreme yin-yang pairing.