<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" data-track="1" > the untraceable phoenix nirvana</h1>
Phoenix, is a kind of sacred bird in China's myths and legends, I believe that everyone is not unfamiliar. When it comes to phoenix, the first thing that people think of is probably the magical skill of "phoenix nirvana".
This skill is not only famous for its magic, but also because it contains the beautiful meaning of light and eternity, as well as the valuable quality of perseverance and courage.
But one thing you may not think of is that in Chinese history, the legend of the phoenix has existed for at least three thousand years. But even if you go through all the historical documents from the Shang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, you will not find the word "Phoenix Nirvana" or a description related to it.
Friends who don't believe it can try it.
In fact, there is no need to try, someone has already tried. This person is the famous painter Huang Yongyu. When Huang Lao created the Phoenix Nirvana painting, he needed to find the source. As a result, I went through the information at hand and did not find relevant information. There was no way, Huang Yongyu had to call Qian Zhongshu for help. After hearing this, Elder Qian laughed and said to Huang Yongyu:
Don't bother, there is no "phoenix nirvana" in history, which is a new word made up by Guo Moruo when he wrote poetry.
The poem mentioned by Qian Zhongshu is Guo Moruo's poem: "Phoenix Nirvana". In the preface to the poem, Guo Moruo wrote:
"In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is an ancient god bird named 'Fenix', after turning five hundred years old, Ji Xiangmu self-immolated, revived from the ashes of death, delicious and abnormal, no longer dead." According to this bird, it is the so-called phoenix in China: the male is the phoenix, and the female is the phoenix. ”
That is to say, the "rebirth of Nirvana" is actually the divine bird of the Celestial Kingdom, "Fenix". And Guo Moruo, who is far-fetched, insists on saying that "Fenix" has become the "phoenix" of the Oriental god bird.
Guo Moruo this person...
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" data-track="74" > myth cannot be tampered with</h1>
Many people may feel that it doesn't matter, myths and legends, anyway, is it a story, who stipulates how to make up? But I don't think myths and legends can be equated with ordinary stories.
The myths and legends of a nation often represent the unique cultural connotation of this nation, as well as the world outlook and values of the ancestors. The falsification and confusion of myths and legends will inevitably lead to the chaos of history and culture and cause trouble to the inheritance of the nation.
In fact, as early as the Ming Dynasty, Chinese already knew the legend of "Phoenix Nirvana Rebirth", and the Ming Dynasty scholar Fang Yizhi wrote in his "Little Knowledge of Physics":
"The national bird of Durg, named Phenix, is four or five hundred years old, and will eventually set himself on fire with incense wood. Ash becomes a worm, and the worm becomes a bird. ”
This "Ferniss" and "Phoenix" are just transliterations of the difference, actually the same species. Moreover, people at that time only regarded "Phoenix" as a foreign rarity, and did not think that it had anything to do with our traditional sacred bird phoenix.
This is normal, although both are sacred birds, but the cultural differences behind them are very different. Not one thing at all.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" data-track="81" > western deities</h1>
The earliest record of "Finis" comes from the ancient Greek historian Herodotus.
In his book History, he wrote:
"They also have a kind of holy breath called Phoenix, a bird I have never seen myself except in pictures. Even in Egypt, this is a very rare animal. ”
This seems to mean that the author accidentally saw a bird like Phoenix in a picture of Egypt, and he felt very magical.
More than 400 years later, in the ancient Roman era, people have a deeper understanding of Phoenix. The ancient Roman poet Ovid described in detail the whole process of Phoenix Nirvana in the Metamorphosis, saying:
"But there is only one bird, and it gives birth to itself, and it is no longer the same when it is born. The Assyrians called it Phoenix. It does not eat grains and vegetables, only balsam and herbs. As you may know, this bird lives to be five hundred years old and builds itself a nest in the palm treetops with its claws and a clean mouth, and piles on the nest the bark of the laurel tree, the ears of the glossy sweet pine, the crushed cinnamon and the yellow myrrh, and it sits on it and ends its life in the midst of the aroma.
It is said that a little Phoenix was born from this father, and he also lived to be five hundred years old. Little Phoenix grew up, had the strength to bear weight, and carried his cradle, that is, his father's grave, and flew up from the palm treetops, to the sky, to the sun city, and placed the nest in front of the temple gate of the sun temple. ”
This description summarizes two key features of Phoenix:
"There is only one bird, and it gives birth to itself", indicating that Phoenix has no gender distinction. And Guo Moruo himself said that the phoenix is divided into male and female, "the male is the phoenix, and the female is the phoenix."
Except for nirvana, Phoenix spent his whole life guarding the gates of the Temple of the Sun. This represents the worship of the sun god in Western culture. Therefore, many Western scholars believe that the prototype of "Phoenix" is actually the "Bennu bird" in ancient Egyptian mythology.
And to this day, there has been a great controversy about whether the legend of "Phoenix" belongs to the ancient Greek civilization or the ancient Egyptian civilization.
I think our oriental civilization has its own unique charm, and there is no need to add to the chaos with them.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="04" data-track="94" > phoenix represents moral worship</h1>
The Classic of Mountains and Seas, probably one of the earliest texts on the phoenix, describes the phoenix as follows:
There are birds, whose shape is like a chicken, and the name is Fenghuang. The first text is known as virtue, the wing text is known as righteousness, the back text is known as the ceremony, the text is known as ren, and the abdomen is known as faith. It is a bird also, eating naturally, singing and dancing, and seeing the peace of the world.
What does that mean? That is to say: the phoenix is a bird that looks like a chicken and has multicolored tattoos. The head is written with the character of virtue, the wing is written with the word yi, the back is written with the word liturgy, the chest is written with the word ren, and the abdomen is written with the letter. Its appearance heralds the peace of the world.
We see that with virtue, righteousness, courtesy, benevolence, and faith, the world is at peace. Isn't this an authentic oriental culture?
Our ancestors sometimes worshipped gods, but most of this was for utilitarian purposes, such as praying for rain, asking for children, and so on. The reverence and pursuit of morality is melted into the blood and deep into the soul.
Whether it is lao Zhuang's pursuit of "Xuanzhi and Xuan, the Door of All Wisdom", or the "benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom" advocated by Kong Meng, in the final analysis, in the ideology of our ancestors, truth is more powerful than divine power.
This is what makes Oriental culture unique.