VV(18): Su Feng

[Dave Monroe]

"... it could only be Melanie, La Jarretiere, to play Su Feng, the virgin 
who is tortured to death defending her purity against the invading 
Mongolians." (., Ch. 14, Sec. i, p. 396)

J. Kerry Grant, A Companion to V. (Athens: U of Georgia P, 2001) here cites 
John Dugdale, Thomas Pynchon: Allusive Parables of Power (New York: St. 
Martin' Press, 1990), and, as Dugdale doesn't say much more on the subject 
...

"Su Feng contains the Chinese for 'phoenix' which, with the phallic pole and 
the 'climax' in the ballet, relates her to Lawrence." (JKG p. 173; JD p. 97)

Though Dugdale does point us in an endnote here to ...

Kermode, Frank.  "D.H. Lawrence and the Apocalyptic Types."
   Modern Essays.  London: Fontana, 1971.  153-81.

Reminding me to namecheck ...

Kermode, Frank.  Romantic Image.  London: RKP, 1957.

The chapter (5?) on "The Dancer."  Just couldn't find my copy at home, but 
it catalogue all sorts of instances of dancers in romanticist and modernist 
lit'rachure that might well prove relevant here ...

Anyway, the, er, phoenician bit here is that "feng," "feng-huang" ...

"The Feng-huang is the Chinese counterpart of the Phoenix, often described 
as having the head and comb of a jungle pheasant and a plumage of five 
colors, perhaps similar in form to that of the Greek Phoenix as  described 
by Herodotus. Like the Greek Phoenix, the Feng-huang lives in the Sun, 
possibly symbolizing the connection between sun worship and belief in the 
bird's existence. Unlike the Greek Phoenix, however, the Feng-huang has 
three legs.

"The word Feng is actually ascribed to the male bird, while Huang is the 
name given to the female. The female is regarded as symbolizing everlasting 
love."

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2072/asia.html

"The Feng-huang or Fung; the 'vermilion bird,' the 'substance of the flame.' 
  The Feng has the head and comb of a pheasant and the tail of a peacock. It 
personifies the primordial force of the heavens. It is one of the Four 
Spiritually Endowed, or Sacred, Creatures and like the dragon and ky-lin, 
with which it  is always associated, it is both yin and yang. When it is the 
male feng it becomes yang, solar, the fire bird; but as the huang it is 
feminine, yin, and lunar. When portrayed with the dragon as a symbol of the 
Emperor, the phoenix becomes entirely feminine as the Empress, and together 
they represent both aspects of imperial power.  Like the dragon and ky-lin, 
the phoenix is made up of various elements, typifying the entire cosmos; it 
has the head of a cock (the sun), the back of a swallow as the crescent 
moon, its wings are the wind, its tail represents trees and flowers, and its 
feet are the earth; it has five colors symbolizing the five virtues;
'Its color delights the eye, its comb expresses righteousness, its tongue 
utters sincerity, its voice chants melody, its ear enjoys music, its heart 
conforms to regulations, its breast contains the treasures of literature, 
and its spurs are powerful against transgressors' (from an ancient ritual) 
...

"The Feminine aspect (huang), denotes beauty, delicacy of feeling, and 
peace. It is also a bridal symbol signifying 'inseparable fellowship.' This 
is not only for the married couple but for the complete yin-yang mutual 
interdependence in the universe in terms of duality."

http://www.inanna.com/yggdrasil/phoenix.html

http://www.inanna.com/yggdrasil/phoenix3.html

There's a "feng" mah jongg tile ...

"The Phoenix of Chinese legend is said to appear only in the reign of a 
benign Emperor, when the Earth and Heaven are in Harmony; it therefore 
signifies happiness.

"It is the symbol of the Red Bird of Summer, one of the four great Chinese 
astrological constellations, and the most appropriate place for it to be 
found is therefore in the South, when it signifies a joyous event."

http://www.xs4all.nl/~korntner/mahjong/fortune/

http://www.xs4all.nl/~korntner/mahjong/fortune/12.jpg

"Feng (or Feng-huang) lives in the Kindgom of the Wise which is to the east 
of China. It drinks the purest water and eats bamboo. When it sings, all the 
roosters in the world accompany it in its five-note song. It only appears in 
time of peace and prosperity, and disappears in times of trouble. Unlike the 
European Benu, Feng can be male or female and live as a couple. Tis couple 
represents marital happiness. The Feng delivers the soul of the infant to 
the mother's
womb, once she conceives it."

http://www.boadicea.net/saintseiya/ikki/mythology.htm

And, of course, Phoebus Apollo, the sun, is associated with the phoenix ...

http://www.crystalinks.com/phoenix.html

And, of course, Igor Stravinsky did compose L'Oiseau de Feu, "The Firebird" 
(1910), a ballet (alter arranged as a suite et al.) based on a Russian 
legend with phoenecian resonances.  But can anyone fill in the "Su" in "Su 
Feng"?  Outside of being a champion Chinese bowler ...

http://www.asianbowling.com/sep/news-aug.htm

http://www.bowlersjournal.com/tournaments/pharoahs2000/template_3.htm

Thanks ...



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