Chinese MYTHICAL Animals EXPLAINED...

NOTE: we have a few typos in this video that some of you noticed. Was editing late at night rushing to get it out for the next day. We will try to do better in the next one. Thanks for all the support. Ben.

As an Asian, I feel highly respected by how this guy is pronouncing each word with a Chinese pronounciation 🙏

Technically, "fenghuang" is not a single entity: "feng" is the male and "huang" is the female of the species. Perhaps that was why the movie showed a pair of flaming flying birds? Over time, it seems the word has been feminised to be paired with the masculine dragon... My favourite is the "qilin" because the character "lin" is in my name. My mother supposedly dreamt of the creature before I was born, but unfortunately, I am definitely no sage or person of great virtue and wisdom! Just living life day to day as a nobody.

My grandmother was born in the year of the dragon and when she passed away it started raining soon after doctors declared. I never realized why my dad said "the dragon has ascended to heaven" but after hearing this piece of knowledge, it kind of gives me peace. Thanks for sharing!!

I watch a lot of Chinese fantasy dramas (Xianxia) so I am already familiar with these mythical creatures. I like your explaining their true meaning. It helps me understand them better.

The earliest known dragon in China is actually from the Hong Shan Culture, back in Neolithic age, about 6 to 7 thousands years ago. During the excavations, archeologist discovered a dragon carved using black jade. Earliest known "phoenix" or sun bird was discovered in Shen Yang, Liao Ning Province, also from neolithic period about 8 thousand years ago. The sun birds were carved wooden totems, they were in a bundle of three; the city uses the sun bird as her emblem even today.

The Fenghuang (Phoenix) is not wreathed in fire, this is a common mixup with the European myth or the Chinese Zhuque (Vermillion Bird of the South). The Shanhaijing is one of the oldest known compendium, but draws from much older legends and accounts... human-headed snakes are probably among the most normal stuff in there :D

About the Feng Huang, they are actually a pair with Feng being the male and Huang being the female. Similarly, Qi Lin is a pair with Qi being the male and Lin being the female. Over time people just got lazy and only drew one creature instead of a pair. Also in ancient time, these creatures were reserved by royalties. Dragon for Emperor, Pheonix for Empress/Queen. Anyone else who used these creatures as symbols would have their heads off. There is another creature similar to Qi Lin called Long Ma "Dragon Horse". Think of it as the ancient Chinese Pegasus as it was supposed to be a winged horse with a dragon's head. And as a side note, your slide about the Feng Huang being king of birds "百鳥之王" had the wrong character. Your slide used 白 (the colour white) in stead of 百 (the unit 100) so it actually reads as "king of white birds".

Dear Ben, It's a real joy to see you back in the videos treating our culture with sincere respect. It really does mean the world to me. The fact is that anyone else would have delivered this material with a tone of superiority, disbelief, and derision. But you took pains to make sure that where jokes were included they weren't at our expense. The effort hasn't gone unnoticed. You're one of the free people I trust to present Chinese cultural Artifacts in a faithful and respectful way. Thank you so much.

My favorite part of Shangchi was the depictions of creatures from traditional chinese folklore. I wish we could have seen more of that, or like a spinoff that takes place primarily in that world.

Your pronunciation of the names are amazingly accurate, so glad to have stumbled upon your channel =)

This is my first video of yours. You make this really fun while being informative :)

Love your explanation, your source, your clear voice and your word choices are fantastic🎉🎉

This was so cool to hear about all the history too going into it! Really excellent video. It's great to see Ben again too, I remember him from way back in Off the Great Wall days haha

Giraffe in Korean is 기린, pronounced kirin, basically the same as the Japanese name! It’s interesting to see connections between these three languages

Thanks a lot. Even if I know already all these mythical animals ,it's a pleasure to listen to you and look at your videos.

Man no body introduces Shan Hai Jing and those Chinese mythical creatures enough. I LOVE chinese mythical creatures! Nice to see your video! And yes I do believe in them :D

The phoenix is 「百鳥之王」 not 「白鳥之王」. The latter means the King of white birds

I admire the attention to detail in your videos. It's clear that you care about delivering high-quality content.

I really enjoying your video! Your pronunciation are amazingly accurate. I like the way your explaining their true meaning. It helps me understand them better.