The Vermilion Bird ( zh, c=朱雀, p=Zhūquè) is one of the Four Symbols of the

Chinese constellations Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" ( Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenisti ...

. According to Wu Xing, the

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

five elemental system, it represents the

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

element, the direction

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, and the season of summer correspondingly. Thus it is sometimes called the Vermilion Bird of the South ( zh, c=南方朱雀, p=Nán Fāng Zhū Què). It is described as a red

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

that resembles a

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...

with a fire-colored plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. It is known as Suzaku in Japanese, Jujak in Korean and Chu Tước in Vietnamese. It is often mistaken for the

Fenghuang ''Fenghuang'' () are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. ''Fenghuang'' are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed ''feng'' and ''huang'' respectively, but a gender ...

due to similarities in appearance, but the two are different creatures. The Fenghuang is a legendary ruler of birds who is associated with the Chinese Empress in the same way the dragon is associated with the Emperor, while the

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

Bird is a mythological spirit creature of the Chinese constellations.

Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird

As with the other three

Symbols A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise different concep ...

, there are seven astrological "Mansions" (positions of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

) within the Vermilion Bird. The names and determinative stars are:

Nature of the symbol

The Vermilion Bird is elegant and noble in both appearance and behavior, with feathers in many different hues of

vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

. It is very selective about what it eats and where it perches.

Stars

In popular culture

In the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

Final Fantasy XIV Online by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

, a trial named "Hell's Kier" was added in Patch 4.4's Four Lords quest-line. The boss of this trial is named Suzaku and bears a resemblance to the Vermilion Bird. In Kagurabachi, the character Seichi Samura wields the enchanted blade Tobimune that harnesses the power of Suzaku, the vermilion bird, giving him regenerative powers.

References

External links