Stone reliefs in Han dynasty, immortals support the phoenix.

Twain/Li Genyong

The fairy feeds the phoenix. In Han Dynasty stone reliefs, immortals are the messengers of the eastern gods.

The ancients believed that all immortals had wings. Immortals are people who are not old. The Queen Mother of the West and Dong often accompany her. In the eyes of Han people, immortals don't eat whole grains, but suck the wind and drink dew. Thin, even naked.

The original stone in Han Dynasty is110cm long and 40cm high. It is carved with beams and stones. The whole picture is dignified in layout, rigorous in structure and imaginative, which is a concave carving technique.

Phoenix is the king of birds in the ancient legend of China, which has a very high position in China culture and is one of the four spirits in The Book of Rites. "Phoenix" is a male and "Phoenix" is a female. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, the dragon gradually became the symbol of the emperor, and the queen began to call it the phoenix, and the image of the phoenix gradually became "feminine" as a whole. Its emblem is often regarded as a symbol of rejuvenating the country and good luck, and it is recorded in Shan Hai Jing, Wild West Jing and Zheng Lei Materia Medica.