The Biyi Bird: Two Birds Flying Wing to Wing

What the Shan Hai Jing says

The Beyond the Seas: South book describes the lands along the southern rim of the world, one after another, and among them it notes the biyi birds, living to the east of the land just mentioned, or, as another version of the text says, east of the Southern Mountain. The description is brief: the birds are green and red, and two birds fly wing to wing. The name itself means birds that join their wings, and the whole entry rests on that single image.

A fuller picture comes from the third book of the Western Mountains. On Mount Chongwu lives a bird like a wild duck with only one wing and one eye; two of them must join before they can fly. It is called the manman, and when it appears there are great floods. Many readers treat the manman and the biyi bird as the same creature, which shows how a bird of ill omen could later become a gentle symbol.

The Erya and the jianjian

The Erya, one of the earliest Chinese dictionaries, lists the paired-wing bird among the wonders of the four directions. It places the bird in the south, says it cannot fly unless it is paired, and gives its name as jianjian. Because each bird has only one wing, the pair becomes whole only when the two fly together. That idea of two halves that need each other is what later writers took up, long after the floods of Mount Chongwu were forgotten.

A symbol of undying love

The most famous use is in the Song of Everlasting Regret, a long poem by the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi about Emperor Xuanzong and his consort Yang Guifei. Near the end, the lovers swear that in heaven they will be paired-wing birds, and on earth two trees whose branches grow into one. Since then the biyi bird has stood for a couple bound for life, and it appears in wedding wishes, love poems and paintings, often beside the joined branches from the same line.

Biyi birds in Beasts of Shanhai

In Beasts of Shanhai, our browser game built on these creatures, the paired birds keep their bond in a game rule. When the biyi bird dies, it passes its attack and half its health to the stronger of its two neighbors, so its partner keeps fighting with both strengths. At three stars it hands over its full health. For the other great bird of Chinese love and good fortune, see the Fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix.

Twinwing Bird in Beasts of Shanhai

In our free browser game Beasts of Shanhai, Twinwing Bird is a Fire beast that costs 3 Gold. Its skill is Wing to Wing. Last Breath: passes its attack and half its max HP to the neighbor with higher attack for the rest of the battle. At three stars it passes its full max HP.

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