The God of Wind Feilian: Bronze Standing Phoenix with Antlers

The Warring States (475-221 B.C.)

Maximum Height: 143.5 cm

Excavated in 1978 from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of the Zeng State in Sui County, Hubei Province

Currently Housed in Hubei Province Museum

As one of the most important sacrificial figures from the Tomb of Marquis Yi, the Standing Phoenix with Antlers was on the east side of the coffin when unearthed. It is made up of a phoenix body, antlers and a base which is all joined together by tenons and mortises and therefore can be easily disassembled. It is so far one of the largest bronze animal statues of the Chu State.

All sorts of myths and legends about the phoenix were popular in the Chu area. In “Xiao Yao You” of Zhuangzi, there were records about Kunpeng (a bird of great size and strength) spreading its wings: Kunpeng spread its wings and flied by dint of wind, rising like a cyclone up to 90,000 miles. This surrealistic compound image of bird and beast is a variant of the phoenix and is generally regarded by the people of Chu as the ancient God of Wind Feilian. In Qu Yuan’s poem “Li Sao” from Chuci, there is a sentence in the poem describing that, “the God of Moon Wang Shu leads the road while the God of Wind Feilian provides the driving force behind.” This utensil is probably used by witches as a psychic connecting human beings with ghosts and gods.