Nine-headed bird(九頭鳥)

The nine-headed bird (Chinese: 九頭鳥), alternatively known as the "Nine Phoenix" (九鳳), represents one of the earliest incarnations of the fenghuang in Chinese mythology. This mythical creature was venerated by indigenous peoples of Hubei Province, a region that formed part of the Chu kingdom during the tumultuous Warring States period. However, the creature's reputation underwent a dramatic transformation due to political tensions—the antagonistic relationship between the Chu kingdom and its former sovereign, the Zhou dynasty, led to the deliberate vilification of this sacred Chu totem.

In contemporary China, the term "nine-headed bird" has evolved into a pejorative expression directed at Hubei natives, implying characteristics of cunning and dishonesty. This sentiment is encapsulated in a well-known Chinese saying: "Above heaven there are nine-headed birds, on earth there are cunning Hubei people."

The mythical creature features prominently in the renowned 16th-century novel Journey to the West, where it appears as the "Nine-Headed Beast" (九頭蟲) or the "Nine-Headed Prince Consort" (九頭駙馬). In this classic tale, the creature serves as the son-in-law of the Wansheng Dragon King, wielding a monk's spade and collaborating to steal sacred relics. During an epic confrontation with the monkey king Sun Wukong and his celestial allies, Erlang Shen's divine hound Xiaotian Quan manages to bite off one of the beast's heads before it retreats to the North Sea.

Folklore surrounding the nine-headed bird's bleeding neck persists to this day, stemming from the belief that it originally possessed ten heads before losing one to a celestial dog. Ouyang Xiu's poetry describes how, after three unsuccessful attempts to shoot the bird, heaven dispatched a divine dog that bit off one head, causing perpetual bleeding. Similarly, Southern Liang writer Yin Yun recounts how the Duke of Zhou, residing in the east and detesting the bird's cry, commanded Tingshi to shoot it—wounding one head while nine remained intact.

The text Records of Doubtful Matters by Lu Changyuan characterizes the bird as a harbinger of misfortune, describing a chilling scene where its harsh call on a rainy spring night terrifies a family who recognize it as the ghost-carrying nine-headed bird. The text further explains that the creature had once lost a head by crushing it against a door, and its continually dripping blood was considered calamitous if it fell upon a home. In response, families would gather at their doorways, mimicking dogs' barking to frighten the bird away and hasten its departure.