To Koreans, birds were the targets in which they put their religious faiths. In particular, their faith in the Bonghuang was the loftiest, and this was not just limited to Korea, but relevant records and examples of such worship can be found in China,...
To Koreans, birds were the targets in which they put their religious faiths. In particular, their faith in the Bonghuang was the loftiest, and this was not just limited to Korea, but relevant records and examples of such worship can be found in China, Japan and even in the West. In Korea, the Chinese phoenix, which was reflected in the thought of the heavenly God, was created into Bonghuang designs, allowing it to be a symbol mark of Korean nationals. Thus, this paper aimed to study the symbolism and significance of the Chinese phoenix, and examine the artistic formativeness of Korean Paintings of a Bonghuang on the basis of the trends of Bonghuang designs.
In the mythologies of the Altai cultural region to which the Korean people belong, totems of birds were discovered; a bird was recognized as the sun and heavenly son, new birth and abundance, and forefathers' souls, the messenger of ascension of souls. Also, a bird played a common denominator's role in linking worship of forefathers, agricultural farming and funerals. Primitive religions, practiced in primitives' hunting life and agricultural farming life, are linked to various conceptual elements such as longevity, bliss and casting out devils; people, out of the necessity for faith, drew and designed birds, and then added symbolic forms and significance to them. Also, as in ancient Korean mythologies, birds such as pigeons, magpies, hens, and crows appeared, birds are linked to the contexts of history and thought.
A bird generally symbolizes the sun, and birds appearing in the historical context of Korea are classified into imaginary and real ones. This paper examined the symbolism of Bonghuang design-related patterns of Vermilion Bird, Three-Legged Bird, Golden Pheasant, Hen, Crane, Peacock, and Pheasant in an effort to understand the Bonghuang more correctly and deeply.
The Chinese phoenix, regarded as a powerful spiritual being, has the image of a divine bird, and relevant theories are classified into the Theory of Natural Meaning and Thought, In Korea, given the historical records that the Theory of the Hen was initiated during the Three Kingdoms period and continued until the Joseon period, this paper focused its examination on the Theory of Origin of the Hen and the Theory of Combined Totems.
The typical Bonghuang of Korea is shaped like a red rooster with a peacock's tail feather, a crane's thin legs, and so on.
In an examination of the formative characteristics of the Korean phoenix bird by period, first, in ancient tomb murals of the Goguryeo period (BC 37~AD 668), it changed from the Three-Legged Bird type to the Vermilion Bird type, creating the prototype of the Korean phoenix bird. In the Baekje period (BC 18~AD 660), compared with the Goguryeo period, the Korean phoenix bird, was more beautiful and gorgeous, featured a rooster's crest-shaped crown in the head and a typical Vermilion Bird type. In the Silla period (BC 57~AD 935), the Korean phoenix bird, reflecting the world view of the Three-Legged Bird, was expressed as three decorated birds closely resembling the hen. As such, in the Three Kingdoms period, the phoenix designs resembling the Vermilion Bird appeared, but in the Goryeo period (918~1392), the phoenix had the head of a hawk, and a very long tail decorated with a long plant pattern. Lastly, in the Joseon period (1392~1910), symbolizing worldly wishes for giving birth to a male child, prosperity, and peace, the phoenix shape gradually changed into the hen and the crane. This is seen as reflecting the familiar bird shape and earnestly expressing individuals' wishes. The Bonghuang design was widely used in both royal palaces and commoners' houses, as a prescribed decorative pattern, and a design with enhanced characteristics of the hen, respectively.
In particular, with friendly and auspicious meaning emphasized, actual bird shapes were reflected in the phoenix shape, and with the reflection of people's longing, the paintings of a Bonghuang in the genre of folk paintings are gorgeous and ornate. As such, the Korean phoenix bird did not simply originate from China, but developed uniquely.
Therefore, in association with the establishment of the identity of Korean national culture, the study of the formative analysis of paintings of a Bonghuang appearing in Goguryeo ancient tomb murals and folk paintings is expected to further increase the domain of the paintings of flowers and birds in modern paintings.