(2) Mr CHAS. GOULD, B.A., to whose book _Mythical Monsters_ (1886) I am
very largely indebted for my account of this bird, and from which I have
culled extracts from the Chinese, is not of this opinion. Certainly the
fact that we read of Fung Hwangs in the plural, whilst tradition asserts
that there is only one phoenix, seems to point to a difference in
origin.

Another account (that in the _Lun Yu Tseh Shwai Shing_) tells us that
"its head resembles heaven, its eye the sun, its back the moon,
its wings the wind, its foot the ground, and its tail the woof."
Furthermore, "its mouth contains commands, its heart is conformable to
regulations, its ear is thoroughly acute in hearing, its tongue utters
sincerity, its colour is luminous, its comb resembles uprightness, its
spur is sharp and curved, its voice is sonorous, and its belly is the
treasure of literature." Like the dragon, tortoise, and unicorn, it was
considered to be a spiritual creature; but, unlike the Western phoenix,
more than one Fung Hwang was, as I have pointed out, believed to exist.
The birds were not always to be seen, but, according to Chinese records,
they made their appearance during the reigns of certain sovereigns. The
Fung Hwang is regarded by the Chinese as an omen of great happiness and
prosperity, and its likeness is embroidered on the robes of empresses
to ensure success. Probably, if the bird is not to be regarded as purely
mythological and symbolic in origin, we have in the stories of it no
more than exaggerated accounts of some species of pheasant. Japanese
literature contains similar stories.

Of other fabulous bird-forms mention may be made of the _griffin_ and
the _harpy_. The former was a creature half eagle, half lion, popularly
supposed to be the progeny of the union of these two latter. It is
described in the so-called _Voiage and Travaile of Sir_ JOHN MAUNDEVILLE
in the following terms(1): "Sum men seyn, that thei ben the Body upward,
as an Egle, and benethe as a Lyoun: and treuly thei seyn sothe, that
thei ben of that schapp. But o Griffoun hathe the body more gret and
is more strong thanne 8 Lyouns, of suche Lyouns as ben o this half; and
more gret and strongere, than an 100 Egles, suche as we ben amonges us.
For o Griffoun there will bere, fleynge to his Nest, a gret Hors, or
2 Oxen zoked to gidere, as thei gon at the Plowghe. For he hathe his
Talouns so longe and so large and grete, upon his Feet, as thoughe thei
weren Horn