Peng (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Peng or Dapeng (大鵬) is a giant bird that transforms from a Kun giant fish in Chinese mythology
. In comparative mythology
of giant creatures, Peng is likened to the Roc or Garuda
and Kun to the Leviathan
.
Both the mythic Chinese Peng and Kun names involve word play
. Peng (鵬) was anciently a variant Chinese character
for feng (鳳) in fenghuang
(鳳凰 "Chinese phoenix") (ca. 100 CE Shuowen Jiezi
); Kun 鲲 originally meant "fish roe
; fry; spawn
" (ca. 200 BCE Erya
).
Synonyms of Peng include Dapeng (大鵬, with "big") and Dapengniao (大鵬鳥, with "bird"), both used to translate foreign "Roc" and "Garuda". Dapeng
also refers to Chinese place names in Shenzhen
and Guangdong
.
After recent fossil discoveries in northeast China, Chinese paleontologists used Peng to name the enantiornithine bird Pengornis
and the wukongopterid pterosaur Kunpengopterus
.
, the Daoist classic Zhuangzi
has the oldest record of the Peng and Kun myth. The first chapter ("Free and Easy Wandering" 逍遙遊 pinyin
Xiao Yao You) begins with three versions of this parable; the lead paragraph
, a quote from the Qixie (齊諧 "Universal Harmony", probably invented by Zhuangzi), and a quote from the Tang zhi wen Ji (湯之問棘 "Questions of Tang
to Ji", cf. Liezi
chapter 5, Tang wen 湯問). The first account contrasts the giant Peng bird with a small tiao (蜩 "cicada") and jiu (鳩 "pigeon; turtledove") and the third with a yan (鴳 or 鷃 "quail"). The Peng fish-bird transformation is not only the beginning myth in Zhuangzi, but Robert Allinson
claims, "the central myth".
Many Zhuangzi scholars, both Chinese and foreign, have debated over the Peng story. Lian Xinda calls it "arguably the most controversial image in the text, which has been inviting conflicting interpretations for the past seventeen centuries."
In traditional Chinese scholarship, the standard Peng interpretation was the "equality theory" of Guo Xiang
(d. 312 CE), who redacted
and annotated the received Zhuangzi text. Guo's commentary said,
Some Chinese scholars gave alternate interpretations. The Buddhist monk Zhi Dun (314-366 CE) associated the Peng's flight with the highest satisfaction achieved by the zhiren (至人 "perfect person; sage; saint", cf. zhenren
).
The Chan Buddhist
master Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清, 1546-1623) also declares the Peng is the image of the Daoist sage, and suggests the bird's flight does not result from the piling up of wind but from the deep piling up of de
"virtue; power".
In modern Chinese and western scholarship, most scholars reject Guo's "equality theory" construal. Lian differentiates contemporary interpretations between whether Zhuangzi was a radical skeptic
and/or a relativist
.
Julian Pas concurs that "the true sage is compared to the enormous bird." A.C. Graham sees the Peng as "soaring above the restricted viewpoints of the worldly." Allinson finds it "very clear and very explicit that the standpoint of the big bird and the standpoint of the cicada and the dove are not seen as possessing equal value." Karen Carr and Philip J. Ivanhoe
find "positive ideals" in the Peng symbolizing the "mythical creature that rises above the more mundane concerns of the word. Brian Lundberg says Zhuangzi uses the image to urge us to "go beyond restricted small points of views." Eric Schwitzgebel interprets, "Being small creatures, we cannot understand great things like the Peng (and the rest of the Zhuangzi?)." Steve Coutinho describes the Peng as a "recluse who wanders beyond the realm of the recognizable", in contrast the tiny birds that "cannot begin to understand what lies so utterly beyond the confines of their mundane experience." Scott Cook writes, "We are, at first, led by Zhuangzi almost imperceptibly into an unreflective infatuation with the bird." Lian concludes the Peng is "An inspiring example of soaring up and going beyond, the image is used to broaden the outlook of the small mind; its function is thus more therapeutic than instructional." Bryan Van Norden suggests, "The likely effect of this passage on the reader is a combination of awe and disorientation."
Zhuangzi's Peng bird became a famous literary metaphor
. Two early examples were the Shen yi jing (神異經 "Classic of Divine Marvels") by Dongfang Shuo
(154 BCE – 93 CE) and the Shui Jing Zhu
(水經注 "Commentary on the Classic of Waterways ") by Li Daoyuan
(d. 527 CE). Li Bo's fu
"prose-poem" Dapengniao fu (大鵬鳥賦) personalizes the Peng "into a symbol of the self-assured Li Bo himself."
and several important Chinese politicians are named Peng. In contrast, the word Kun (鯤) is seldom used.
Peng is pronounced hō in Japanese
, as seen in the sumo ring names
Taihō Kōki
(大鵬幸喜) and Hakuhō Shō
(白鵬翔).
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
. In comparative mythology
Comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes...
of giant creatures, Peng is likened to the Roc or Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
and Kun to the Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
.
Names
The Chinese logographs for peng and kun exemplify common radical-phonetic characters. Peng (鵬) combines the "bird radical" (鳥) with a peng (朋 "friend") phonetic, and kun combines the "fish radical" (魚) with a kun (昆 "progeny; insect") phonetic.Both the mythic Chinese Peng and Kun names involve word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
. Peng (鵬) was anciently a variant Chinese character
Variant Chinese character
Variant Chinese characters are Chinese characters that are homophones and synonyms. Almost all variants are allographs in most circumstances, such as casual handwriting...
for feng (鳳) in fenghuang
Fenghuang
Fenghuang are mythological birds of East Asia that reign over all other birds. The males are called Feng and the females Huang. In modern times, however, such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and the Feng and Huang are blurred into a single feminine entity so that the bird can be...
(鳳凰 "Chinese phoenix") (ca. 100 CE Shuowen Jiezi
Shuowen Jiezi
The Shuōwén Jiězì was an early 2nd century CE Chinese dictionary from the Han Dynasty. Although not the first comprehensive Chinese character dictionary , it was still the first to analyze the structure of the characters and to give the rationale behind them , as well as the first to use the...
); Kun 鲲 originally meant "fish roe
Roe
Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...
; fry; spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
" (ca. 200 BCE Erya
Erya
The Erya is the oldest extant Chinese dictionary or Chinese encyclopedia. Bernhard Karlgren concluded that "the major part of its glosses must reasonably date from" the 3rd century BC....
).
Synonyms of Peng include Dapeng (大鵬, with "big") and Dapengniao (大鵬鳥, with "bird"), both used to translate foreign "Roc" and "Garuda". Dapeng
Dapeng
Dapeng is a subdistrict in the south east of district Longgang, in prefecture-level city Shenzhen, in the Chinese province Guangdong. In this area the main spoken dialect are Dapeng dialect and Bao'an-Hakka....
also refers to Chinese place names in Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
and Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
.
After recent fossil discoveries in northeast China, Chinese paleontologists used Peng to name the enantiornithine bird Pengornis
Pengornis
Pengornis is the largest known enantiornithine bird from the Early Cretaceous of northeast China.the name Pengornis derives from "Peng", which refers to a mythological bird from Chinese folklore, and "-ornis", which means bird in Greek....
and the wukongopterid pterosaur Kunpengopterus
Kunpengopterus
Kunpengopterus is a genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the middle-late Jurassic or early Cretaceous of northeastern China.Kunpengopterus is known from holotype IVPP V16047, an almost complete skeleton with complete skull and lower jaws recovered from rocks of the Tiaojishan Formation or...
.
Literature
In Chinese literatureChinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
, the Daoist classic Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi (book)
The Taoist book Zhuangzi was named after its purported author Zhuangzi, the philosopher. Since 742 CE, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang mandated honorific titles for Taoist texts, it has also been known as the Nánhuá Zhēnjīng , literally meaning "True Classic of Southern Florescence," alluding to...
has the oldest record of the Peng and Kun myth. The first chapter ("Free and Easy Wandering" 逍遙遊 pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
Xiao Yao You) begins with three versions of this parable; the lead paragraph
Lead paragraph
A lead paragraph in literature refers to the opening paragraph of an article, essay, news story or book chapter. Often called just "the lead", it usually occurs together with the headline or title, it precedes the main body of the article, and it gives the reader the main idea of the story.In the...
, a quote from the Qixie (齊諧 "Universal Harmony", probably invented by Zhuangzi), and a quote from the Tang zhi wen Ji (湯之問棘 "Questions of Tang
Tang of Shang
King Cheng Tang of Shang was the first ruling king of the Shang dynasty in Chinese history. He overthrew Jie, the last ruler of the Xia dynasty.-Early life:...
to Ji", cf. Liezi
Liezi
The Liezi is a Daoist text attributed to Lie Yukou, a circa 5th century BCE Hundred Schools of Thought philosopher, but Chinese and Western scholars believe it was compiled around the 4th century CE.-Textual history:...
chapter 5, Tang wen 湯問). The first account contrasts the giant Peng bird with a small tiao (蜩 "cicada") and jiu (鳩 "pigeon; turtledove") and the third with a yan (鴳 or 鷃 "quail"). The Peng fish-bird transformation is not only the beginning myth in Zhuangzi, but Robert Allinson
Robert Allinson
Robert Allinson is Professor of Philosophy and the former Director of Humanities at Soka University of America . He was previously a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale with Great...
claims, "the central myth".
In the northern darkness there is a fish and his name is K'un. The K'un is so huge I don't know how many thousand liLi (unit)The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
he measures. He changes and becomes a bird whose name is P'eng. The back of the P'eng measures I don't know how many thousand li across and, when he rises up and flies off, his wings are like clouds all over the sky. When the sea begins to move, this bird sets off for the southern darkness, which is the Lake of HeavenLake Tianchi- Lakes :Heaven Lake primarily refers to the crater lake of Mount Baekdu, on the Sino–North Korean borderHeaven Lake is the translation of a Chinese, Mongolian, Manju, Korean, etc...
.
The Universal Harmony records various wonders, and it says: "When the P'eng journeys to the southern darkness, the waters are roiled for three thousand li. He beats the whirlwind and rises ninety thousand li, setting off on the sixth month gale." Wavering heat, bits of dust, living things blowing each other about – the sky looks very blue. Is that its real color, or is it because it is so far away and has no end? When the bird looks down, all he sees is blue too.
If water is not piled up deep enough, it won't have the strength to bear up a big boat. Pour a cup of water into a hollow in the floor and bits of trash will sail on it like boats. But set the cup there and it will stick fast, for the water is too shallow and the boat too large. If wind is not piled up deep enough, it won't have the strength to bear up great wings. Therefore when the P'eng rises ninety thousand li, he must have the wind under him like that. Only then can he mount on the back of the wind, shoulder the blue sky, and nothing can hinder or block him. Only then can he set his eyes to the south.
The cicada and the little dove laugh at this saying, "When we make an effort and fly up, we can get as far as the elm or the sapanwood tree, but sometimes we don't make it and just fall down on the ground. Now how is anyone going to go ninety thousand li to the south!
If you go off to the green woods nearby, you can take along food for three meals and come back with your stomach as full as ever. If you are going a hundred li, you must grind your grain the night before; and if you are going a thousand li you must start getting together provisions three months in advance. What do these two creatures understand? Little understanding cannot come up to great understanding; the short-lived cannot come up to the long-lived. …
Among the questions of T'ang to Ch'i we find the same thing. In the bald and barren north, there is a dark sea, the Lake of Heaven. In it is a fish which is several thousand li across, and no one knows how long. His name is K'un. There is also a bird there, named P'eng, with a back like Mount T'aiMount TaiMount Tai is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The tallest peak is the Jade Emperor Peak , which is commonly reported as tall, but is described by the PRC government as .Mount Tai is one of the...
and wings like clouds filling the sky. He beats the whirlwind, leaps into the air, and rises up ninety thousand li, cutting through the clouds and mist, shouldering the blue sky, and then he turns his eyes south and prepares to journey to the southern darkness.
The little quail laughs at him, saying, "Where does he think he's going? I give a great leap and fly up, but I never get more than ten or twelve yards before I come down fluttering among the weeds and brambles. And that's the best kind of flying anyway! Where does he think he's going?" Such is the difference between big and little.
Many Zhuangzi scholars, both Chinese and foreign, have debated over the Peng story. Lian Xinda calls it "arguably the most controversial image in the text, which has been inviting conflicting interpretations for the past seventeen centuries."
In traditional Chinese scholarship, the standard Peng interpretation was the "equality theory" of Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang
Guo Xiang , is credited with the first and most important revision of the text known as the Zhuangzi which, along with the Laozi, forms the textual and philosophical basis of the Taoist school of thought...
(d. 312 CE), who redacted
Redaction
Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent work...
and annotated the received Zhuangzi text. Guo's commentary said,
The flight of the fabulous (P'eng) bird may take half a year and will not stop until it gets to the Celestial Lake. The flight of a small bird takes only half of the morning and stops at getting from tree to tree. So far as capacities are concerned, there is a difference. But in adapting to their nature, they are the same.
Some Chinese scholars gave alternate interpretations. The Buddhist monk Zhi Dun (314-366 CE) associated the Peng's flight with the highest satisfaction achieved by the zhiren (至人 "perfect person; sage; saint", cf. zhenren
Zhenren
Zhenren is a Chinese term that first appeared in the Zhuangzi meaning "Daoist spiritual master", roughly translatable as "Perfected Person"...
).
Now, that which wanders free and easy is clearly the mind of the Perfected Man. Master Chuang spoke of the great Tao and expressed his meaning with the P'eng bird and the quail. Because the P'eng bird's path through life is far reaching, it neglects [spiritual] satisfaction beyond the body. Because the quail is nearby, it laughs at what is distant and is pleased with itself in its heart. The Perfected Man [however] ascends heaven directly and joyfully wanders endlessly in freedom.
The Chan Buddhist
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
master Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清, 1546-1623) also declares the Peng is the image of the Daoist sage, and suggests the bird's flight does not result from the piling up of wind but from the deep piling up of de
De (Chinese)
De is a key concept in Chinese philosophy, usually translated "inherent character; inner power; integrity" in Taoism, "moral character; virtue; morality" in Confucianism and other contexts, and "quality; virtue" or "merit; virtuous deeds" in Chinese Buddhism.-The word:Chinese de 德 is an ancient...
"virtue; power".
In modern Chinese and western scholarship, most scholars reject Guo's "equality theory" construal. Lian differentiates contemporary interpretations between whether Zhuangzi was a radical skeptic
Radical skepticism
Radical skepticism or radical scepticism is the philosophical position that knowledge is most likely impossible. Radical skeptics hold that doubt exists as to the veracity of every belief and that certainty is therefore never justified...
and/or a relativist
Relativism
Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration....
.
The Peng bird can either be construed as an image of freedom, even the epitome of the highest Daoist ideal, which supports the argument that Zhuangzi does privilege a perspective and hence is not a relativist in the rigid sense of the term; or it is taken for a creature that is no better or worse than the cicada and the little birds, which serves to illustrate the relativist view that all perspectives are equal."
Julian Pas concurs that "the true sage is compared to the enormous bird." A.C. Graham sees the Peng as "soaring above the restricted viewpoints of the worldly." Allinson finds it "very clear and very explicit that the standpoint of the big bird and the standpoint of the cicada and the dove are not seen as possessing equal value." Karen Carr and Philip J. Ivanhoe
Philip J. Ivanhoe
Philip J. Ivanhoe is an historian of Chinese thought, particularly of Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. He is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong...
find "positive ideals" in the Peng symbolizing the "mythical creature that rises above the more mundane concerns of the word. Brian Lundberg says Zhuangzi uses the image to urge us to "go beyond restricted small points of views." Eric Schwitzgebel interprets, "Being small creatures, we cannot understand great things like the Peng (and the rest of the Zhuangzi?)." Steve Coutinho describes the Peng as a "recluse who wanders beyond the realm of the recognizable", in contrast the tiny birds that "cannot begin to understand what lies so utterly beyond the confines of their mundane experience." Scott Cook writes, "We are, at first, led by Zhuangzi almost imperceptibly into an unreflective infatuation with the bird." Lian concludes the Peng is "An inspiring example of soaring up and going beyond, the image is used to broaden the outlook of the small mind; its function is thus more therapeutic than instructional." Bryan Van Norden suggests, "The likely effect of this passage on the reader is a combination of awe and disorientation."
Zhuangzi's Peng bird became a famous literary metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
. Two early examples were the Shen yi jing (神異經 "Classic of Divine Marvels") by Dongfang Shuo
Dongfang Shuo
Dongfang Shuo was a Han Dynasty scholar-official, fangshi , author, and court jester to Emperor Wu...
(154 BCE – 93 CE) and the Shui Jing Zhu
Shui Jing Zhu
Shui Jing Zhu is a work on the ancient geography of China. It is an annotated and much expanded version of an older text, the Shui Jing , which has been lost.The annotated version was compiled by Li Daoyuan Shui Jing Zhu is a work on the ancient geography of China. It is an annotated and much...
(水經注 "Commentary on the Classic of Waterways ") by Li Daoyuan
Li Daoyuan
Li Daoyuan was a Chinese geographer during thetimes of the Northern Wei Dynasty. He is known as the author ofthe Commentary to the River Classic ....
(d. 527 CE). Li Bo's fu
Fu (poetry)
Fu is a kind of rhymed prose, or poetry style essay, popular in ancient China, especially during the Han Dynasty. The term fu is often used in a multiway contrast with the more purely poetic shi style, with the fixed-rhythm forms of poetry , and with various more explicitly prosaic forms of...
"prose-poem" Dapengniao fu (大鵬鳥賦) personalizes the Peng "into a symbol of the self-assured Li Bo himself."
Famous people named Peng (鵬)
Peng linguistically symbolizes "greatness; great promise; great accomplishments"; for instance, the idiom pengchengwanli (鵬程萬里, literally, Peng journeys 10,000 li) means "have a bright/unlimited future". This word is commonly used as a Chinese given nameChinese given name
Chinese given names are generally made up of one or two characters, and are written after the family name, therefore "John-Paul Smith" as a Chinese name would be read "Smith John-Paul". Chinese names can consist of any character and contain almost any meaning...
and several important Chinese politicians are named Peng. In contrast, the word Kun (鯤) is seldom used.
- Li PengLi PengLi Peng served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China, between 1987 and 1998, and the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003. For much of the 1990s Li was ranked second in the Communist Party of China ...
(李鵬) - Yue FeiYue FeiYue Fei , style name Pengju, was a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan...
(style nameChinese style nameA Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
: Pengju, 鵬舉) - Ji PengfeiJi PengfeiJi Pengfei was a politician in the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910...
(姬鵬飛) - Xiao Peng (肖鵬)
- Bi Dapeng (毕大鹏）
Peng is pronounced hō in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, as seen in the sumo ring names
Shikona
A shikona is a sumo wrestler's ring name.As with standard Japanese names, a shikona consists of a 'surname' and a 'given' name, and the full name is written surname first. However, the given name is rarely used outside formal or ceremonial occasions. Thus, the former yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori is...
Taihō Kōki
Taiho Koki
Taihō Kōki is the 48th Yokozuna in the Japanese sport of sumo wrestling. He is generally regarded as the greatest sumo wrestler of the post-war period. He became a yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time, and he won a record 32 tournaments between 1960 and 1971...
(大鵬幸喜) and Hakuhō Shō
Hakuho Sho
is a professional sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. On May 30, 2007 at the age of 22 he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo,...
(白鵬翔).