In ancient times, there was an immortal bird named "Phoenix", commonly known as "Phoenix". After the age of 500, Ji Xiangmu set himself on fire and was reborn from the fire. It was delicious and never died again. The phoenix in Guo Moruo's poem "Phoenix Nirvana" refers to the fairy bird in western legend.
There is also a bird called Benu in ancient Egyptian mythology. The ancient Egyptians believed that Benu was about the size of an eagle, with golden feathers, shining wings, gorgeous appearance and pleasant singing, which could bring happiness and longevity to people. At the same time, it is believed that there is only one Benu in the world with a life span of 500 years. When he was dying, Benu would collect branches of aromatic plants and herbs to build a nest and then set himself on fire. In the blazing flame, a young Benu was born. The newborn young Benu put the ashes of the old Benu into a medicine egg, coated it with antiseptic essential oil, and flew to the sun god, who put it on the altar of the temple of the sun.
The "firebird" mentioned above is different from the legendary phoenix in China, but people in China are used to treating the fairy bird as a phoenix in translation and cognition. The firebird in the western legend is more like an eagle, and the phoenix in the eastern legend is more like a chicken and a pheasant.
In addition, there is no myth of phoenix nirvana in China. The word "phoenix nirvana" was coined by Guo Moruo in the poem "phoenix nirvana", which confused the fairy bird with the phoenix. More similar is Goruda (Golden Winged Bird), who died of spontaneous combustion after swallowing Naga according to Buddhist legend. However, China will not confuse Phoenix with Gruda, and Gruda will not be reborn.