The _fêng-huang_,[509] a phœnix-like bird, is usually shown with the “head of a pheasant and the beak of a swallow, a long flexible neck, plumage of many gorgeous colours, a flowing tail between that of an argus pheasant and a peacock, and long claws pointed backward as it flies.” It is the special emblem of the Empress. In archaic designs there is a _k’uei fêng_ or one-legged phœnix, a bird-like creature terminating in scrolls, which, like the corresponding _k’uei lung_, occasionally appears in porcelain designs. Another bird-like creature scarcely distinguishable from the _fêng_ is the _luan_; the former being based, as it is said, on the peacock of India, and the latter on the argus pheasant. Another creature of dual nature is the _ch’i lin_, commonly called the kylin, which consists of the male (_ch’i_) and the female (_lin_). It is in itself a composite animal with the “body of a deer, with the slender legs and divided hoofs; the head resembles that of a dragon, the tail is curled and bushy, like that of the conventional lion, and the shoulders are adorned with the flame-like attributes of its divine nature. It is said to attain the age of a thousand years, to be the noblest form of animal creation, and the emblem of perfect good; and to tread so lightly as to leave no footprints, and so carefully as to crush no living creature.” Its appearance was the sign of the coming of a virtuous ruler. It is important to note that the _ch’i lin_ is quite distinct from the Chinese lion, and is also to be carefully separated from the other chimera-like creatures known in Chinese art under the general title _hai shou_ or sea monsters. The lion in Chinese art (_shih_ or _shih tzŭ_, the Japanese _shishi_), though of qualified ferocity in appearance, is in reality a peaceful, docile creature who expends his energy on a ball of silk brocade, the streamers from which he holds in his massive jaws. In general aspect (Plate 95), in his tufts of hair and his bushy tail, he closely resembles the Peking spaniel, who is in fact called after him the lion dog (_shih tzŭ kou_). He is usually represented in pairs, the one with one foot on a ball of brocade, and the other, presumably the lioness, with a cub. The larger lion figures are placed as guardians by the gates of Buddhist temples, from which function the lion has earned the name of “dog of Fo” (i.e. Buddha); the smaller sizes, usually mounted on an oblong base with a tube attached to hold an incense-stick, have a place on the domestic altar. Another mythical creature not unlike the lion is the _pi hsieh_ of archaic art which is supposed to ward off evil spirits.[510]