The Phoenix

Is the myth of the Phoenix Chinese or Egyptian? I thought about it while reading The New Human Revolution, Vol. 9, by Daisaku Ikeda, a fictional account of the history of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai.

The book mentions plans for the flag of a particular high school in Japan. The design would include “a young phoenix in white with outstretched wings …” The high school’s flag design “originated in frequent reference … to the high school [students] … as ‘young phoenixes’… .” (1) The phoenix is also mentioned in the writings of Nichiren Daishonin. According to the English translation, he described the Lotus Sutra as “the phoenix among scriptures.” (2)

I was not aware of a phoenix myth originating in China. From a Japanese point of view one could say it did. The Encyclopædia Britannica (15th edition, Micropædia Vol. 9) tells us how the myth evolved in Egypt and became popular in Greece and Rome. It mentions that the myth probably originated in India. Most references I’ve seen seem to agree that India was the source.

In Brewer’s Book of Myth and Legends, J. C. Cooper explains that the phoenix was first mentioned in the West by Hesiod in the 8th century B.C. (3) In the West it’s a symbol of resurrection. But the Chinese version represents yin-yang. According to Cooper, “The phoenix is of great importance in Chinese myth as the Feng-huang … Like the dragon and Ky-Lin it is a fabulous creature which combines yin-yang powers.”

In Ancient Egypt, the sun god Ra was represented by this bird, its myth an important part of the rituals conducted by the sun priest. Classical and Roman texts directly ascribe the belief to Egyptian sources, not Asian. However, classical texts also call it the “Arabian bird.” Cooper reminds us that so did Shakespeare when he wrote in Cymbeline (I, vi):

If she be furnish’d with a mind so rare,
She is alone the Arabian bird

The magical bird was said to live for as long as 500 years but a “phoenix cycle” could last between 250 to 7 000 years (Cooper). Probably thinking about the long “Phoenix Cycle”, some Roman coins showed a phoenix symbolizing the Roman Empire through eternity. According to Pagans and Christians (4), Christians preferred one thousand as “it suggested a new millennium” in time for the Christian emperor, Constantine.

As with so many things from the Roman Empire, the West inherited this vision of the phoenix as a symbol of eternity. Christianity adopted the phoenix as symbol of resurrection, believing it foretold Christ’s resurrection. Its image appears in early Christian tombs.

The myth is still very popular. Jung makes reference to its Yin-Yang qualities as the fire that destroys and creates: “La sphère culturelle antique … pratiquait un vénération du soleil … qui meurt et ressuscite (… le Christ, Mithra, Phénix), etc. On honorait dans le feu autant la puissance bienfaisante que la puissance destructrice.” (5)

Egyptian Phoenix

----
1 Ikeda, D. (2003). The New Human Revolution. Santa Monica, World Tribune Press.
2 Writings of Nichiren Daishonin; “The Opening of the Eyes (I); Tokyo; 1999; p. 247
3 J.C. Cooper, editor; Brewer’s Book of Myth and Legend; London, 1992; pp 219–220.
4 Robin Lane Fox (1986). Pagans and Christians. San Francisco, pp. 639–41.
5 C. G. Jung. Yves le Lay, translator. Métamorphoses de l’âme et ses symboles. (Original title: Symbole der Wandlung). Paris;1993; Le Livre de Poche. p. 202
----
Photo 1: Phoenix from Métamorphoses de l‘âme et ses symboles.
Photo 2: Egyptian phoenix from Reading Egyptian Art