fêng huang

noun

variants or fung-hwang

ˈfəŋˈ(h)wäŋ

1

: the bird that in Chinese myth watches with the dragon, tortoise, and kylin over the empire and appears in times of prosperity and that is often represented in art as composite in appearance sometimes as a symbol of the empress

2

: a bird with rich plumage and graceful form and movement domestic in the former imperial court of China, associated with the mythical fêng huang as an emblem of good fortune, and identified by some with the ocellated argus

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Pekingese) fêng⁴ huang², from fêng⁴ male phoenix + huang² female phoenix

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