Xuanniao () is a name given to a Shang dynasty bird in Chinese mythology. It is mentioned in myriad received texts, including the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Rites, Chu Ci, Lüshi Chunqiu and the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
The bird is said to have laid an egg that gave birth to Xie, who would go on to found Predynastic Shang, as well as Ye the Great, who would found the State of Qin. The Ge Tian clan also show connections with the bird through music. Despite extensive mentions in Zhou dynasty texts discussing the Shang dynasty, it is not mentioned in Oracle bones, leaving its role in the Shang state religion unclear.
Name is the descriptive name given to the bird dating back to the Zhou dynasty and seen in received texts. It is variously translated as "mystical bird," "dark bird," and " bird."
Attempted identifications
identified with Xuanniao, which has been backed up by archaeological findings in Fuyang, as well as etymological findings that see as etymologically related to . The latter character which would go on to be clarified as with a semantic component. Received texts such as Lüshi Chunqiu have also used the moniker.
Chen Mengjia identifies with a male Fenghuang (or simply Feng), a connection Xu Shen made in in another verse, through his readings of Chu Ci; specifically, and . Guan Donggui posited a theory that could have been a clipping of , which other scholars have echoed. This has been further extrapolated to a possible connection with a genitalia cult, where would be male genitals, and fish female ones. However, these have been disputed on the grounds of a "bird cult" possibly being an illusion brought about by early scholarship.
In classical texts Xuanniao is mentioned in numerous early texts, which chiefly associate it with Predynastic Shang and other pre-Zhou dynasty cultures.
In Records of the Grand Historian
The "canonical" view of the myth can be found in Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, which records the as being the founder of Predynastic Shang.
This story is seen in numerous texts, such as the Classic of Poetry and Biographies of Exemplary Women. Therefore, the source Sima Qian used is unknown.
Additionally, the Qin dynasty is also said to have claimed ancestry in the same text:
In the Classic of Poetry
This -style piece describes the standard myth of giving Jiandi giving birth to Xie through the egg gifted by . Comparisons have been drawn between the poem and the myth of Yu the Great being birthed from a back rib torn out of his mother.
In Chu Ci Allusions to Xie Heavenly Questions () makes clear allusions to the legend of Xie's birth, the founding myth of Predynastic Shang, mirroring the account given in Records of the Grand Historian and the Classic of Poetry.
Thinking of the Beautiful One () refers to the same legend, alluding to Jiandi's receiving of the egg.
In Accumulated Blossoms Unlike the other two poems, Accumulated Blossoms () treats as a strictly scenic bird, not using it to specifically reference the birth of Xie, and instead alluding to its spiritual origins.
In Lüshi Chunqiu In Lüshi Chunqiu, the appears strictly in the "Almanac" () sections.
In the Second Month Almanac (), the is mentioned preceding a significant sacrifice being made to Gao Mei, a goddess of fertility, thus alluding to other classics that link the Xuanniao with fertility.
In the Midsummer Almanac (), is mentioned as the second song sang by the Ge Tian Clan ().
In the Mid-Autumn Almanac (), Xuanniao is mentioned as returning during the Mid-Autumn Month as it is defined by Lü Buwei.
In the Classic of Mountains and Seas The Xuanniao is mentioned twice in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, an ancient atlas known for featuring strangely-described creatures.
At the time of writing the classic, the Fenghuang was considered two separate entities, the male and female respectively. The Northern Great Wilderness chapter of the Classic of Mountains and Seas notably distinguishes the from the , using them separately when listing creatures found in two mountains, mentioned in completely different parts of the list. Whether this implies the is a or a distinct entity, however, is unclear.
Meanwhile, the Inner Sea chapter mentions it as residing at the source of a certain river:
In excavated texts A Mawangdui silk manuscript titled Xingde notes that was venerated as a military deity.
Possible veneration
While the founding myth of Predynastic Shang is recorded in Zhou dynasty texts, whether the ancient Shang people mentioned by them actually venerated the bird is unclear, mainly due to a lack of contemporary texts. The Zhou texts in question were written centuries after the Battle of Muye that ended the Late Shang. Archaeological finds have given some signs of a "bird cult," given ample iconography of owls and swallows in jade and bronze artifacts, sometimes with Taotie forming the face. This has led to a broader theory of Shang birds being a central component of totemic iconography, particularly drawing upon the Shang odes in the Classic of Poetry as evidence when viewed in the light of Shang dynasty jade and bronze artifacts. Additionally, Wang Hai appears to have been worshipped as a bird. However, oracle bones do not reflect any sacrifices being made to any specific bird deity, nor is mentioned, at least by the same name given by the Zhou writers who recount the myth. Therefore, all scholarship on the topic is forced to synthesise Zhou dynasty retellings with Shang archaeology.
References