According to ancient texts: "The phoenix has six symbols and nine bulges. The six symbols are the head symbolizing heaven, the eyes symbolizing the sun, the back symbolizing the moon, the wings symbolizing wind, the feet symbolizing earth, and tail symbolizing latitude."
This symbolism does not solely pertain to outward appearance, but is a kind of extended metaphor. The eyes symbolize the sun, shining like the sun; the back symbolizes the moon, with a beautifully curved shape like a crescent; the wings symbolize the wind, flapping as if gusting... and so on.
Thus, another text records: "There are five types of phoenix-like birds: the red is the phoenix; the yellow is the Yuan Chu; the blue is the luan; the purple is the Yu Zhao, and the white is the Hong Hu."
It says that there are five types of birds that meet the criteria of six symbols and nine bulges, all of which can be called phoenixes. So what exactly does the outer form of a phoenix look like?
