Northeast Asian History Network

The Third Stone Prop of the Southwestern Wall (Side – Detailed view of the Fenghuang - Left)

This is the detailed view of the Fenghuang on the left side of the third stone prop of the southwestern wall. Much like the dragon, extremely diverse descriptions of Fenghuang exist in historical texts. Shanhaijing or The Classics of Mountains and Seas states, "A bird exists that resembles a rooster and features the five cardinal colors. Its name is Fenghuang." Shuowen Jiezi (literally “Explaining and Analyzing Characters”, A Chinese dictionary from the Han Dynasty) states, "Fenghuang is an ethereal bird featuring the five cardinal colors. Its front resembles the Qilin (a.k.a. Kirin: chimerical creature of Chinese mythology), and the rear resembles a deer. It has the neck of a snake, tail of a fish, scales of a dragon, shell of a tortoise, chin of a swallow, and the beak of a rooster." Therefore, the Fenghuang sometimes resembles a rooster or is a composite of several auspicious animals.
The appearance of the Fenghuang in the image is similar to that of the Vermilion Bird painted in the Great Tomb of Gangseo. A lotus branch palmette (decorative element resembling honeysuckle leaves) can be seen in the Fenghuang's mouth. The high degree of Koguryo artistry can be affirmed through the fine lines of the wing feathers and flowing curves of the tail. The artwork almost seems to have been painted on smooth rice paper rather than a rough stone wall, and the strokes are impossibly smooth and alluring. The flower pattern depicted around the Fenghuang embody the immortal world's imaginative and dazzling atmosphere.