Peng (鵬)

Peng (鵬)

Alternative Names (異名):
鵬, Peng

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Peng (Chinese: 鵬; pinyin: péng) is the Romanization of the Chinese character for a mythological bird.

The character, 鵬, is comprised of 朋 (péng - a phonetic hint to pronunciation) and 鳥 (niǎo - a pictograph of a bird with long feathers).

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Literature

In Chinese mythology, the Peng and Kun (Chinese: 鯤; pinyin: kūn) are different forms of the same creature. Translated from the ancient literature, Zhuang Zi's Xiao Yao You (逍遙遊):

There lived a kind of giant mysterious fish in the northern sea. These fish are called Kun. Nobody knows how big these fish actually are. They can turn into giant birds. When they are in bird form, they are known as Peng. Nobody knows how big these birds actually are. When they fly, their wings are like the colorful clouds in the sky. When there is a storm in the northern sea, the Peng will fly to the southern sea[2]. They travel three thousand li (里[1]) in one flap of their wings. They can fly for six months without rest.

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Notes

[1] 1里 ≒ 0.393km
[2] southern sea (南冥) mentioned in the story is also known as Tian Chi (天池).

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See also

Fenghuang
Roc

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Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chinese_mythology

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Chinese mythology | Mythical fish | Legendary birds | Chinese mythology stubs