208 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



its body. Its cries are symbolic, its appearance precedes 

 the advent of virtuous rulers. As in the other cases 

 this bird carries something away — this time an eminent 

 philosopher, Baik-fu, was translated. In Japan the 

 peasantry, at least, still hold to the reality of the same 

 bird under the name ho-ho, and artists and symbolists 

 have beautifully utilized the conception. 90 The belief 

 is that the sun descends to earth from time to time in the 

 form of the ho-ho, as a messenger of love, peace, and 

 goodwill, and rests on one or another of the torii. It 

 appears to have become a badge of imperial rank in 

 China before the time of the Ming dynasty, and, in 

 Japan it became the symbol of the empress, and in old 

 times, as we are told, only empresses and royal princesses 

 could have its likeness woven into their dress-goods. 



It will be noticed that this last-considered member of 

 our fabulous flock, the fung-whang or ho-ho, is the 

 only one not of gigantic size or distorted or terrifying 

 aspect. This indicates to me its comparatively recent 

 origin, and its beneficent disposition shows that it is the 

 creation of men accustomed to peace under kindly skies. 

 It is an interesting fact that when the Mongolian felt 

 called upon to portray demoniac beings he exaggerated to 

 the extent of his ability human expressions of rage, 

 villainy and ferocity, instead of using for his purpose 

 animals of Titanic size, or in horrifying combinations, 

 as did magicians south of the great mountains. 



The explanation seems not far away. The territory 

 that apparently always has been the home of the homo- 

 geneous "yellow" race is essentially a vast plain extend- 

 ing from the mountains of central Asia westward to the 

 Pacific and meridianally from southern China to the 

 border of Kamptchatka. It includes the spacious valleys 



