Among all the candidates for "national brand name" business cards, the appearance of "Phoenix" is unique and natural. The difference is that it doesn't exist in reality. Naturally, it is a true image in the minds of the vast majority of China people, and it has long been the national bird of China people in spirit. No wonder Phoenix topped the list with absolute superiority in the online survey of chinese national geography magazine.

Supporters believe that there is nothing like the Chinese people's love for Phoenix. Not only people's names, place names, things' names, famous brands, electrical appliances, architecture and works of art, but also language, literature, folk customs and festivals are everywhere. The people of China have endowed Phoenix with everything beautiful, auspicious, kind, quiet, kind and natural. Phoenix worship is a strong national complex. Choose the national bird. If we can jump out of the narrow framework of pure biology, then the national bird must belong to the phoenix, and there is no need for so much controversy. Another advantage of choosing Phoenix is that it can balance the different choices of "national birds" with different regions and interests. You can also appreciate the uniqueness of the national bird. Because Phoenix's "one" is "many".

Opponents believe that the choice of national birds should be based on scientific principles. In addition to the phoenix, there are many birds such as red-crowned crane, crested ibis and golden pheasant. And these birds are real in reality, and they are all national protected animals, even world-class endangered animals. The choice of national birds should proceed from the realistic angle of protecting birds.

Both support and opposition express people's good wishes from different aspects. As far as the world is concerned, there has never been a unified standard for selecting national birds.

Xu, vice chairman of China Bird Association, said: "This standard varies from country to country and there is no unified standard."

If measured by these three basic standards, the golden pheasant with a red belly should be said to be the luckiest. Because it explains the legend of "wearing a national bird" three years ago. In 200 1 year, the 2nd1World Universiade, known as "Little Olympics", opened in Beijing. At the opening ceremony, for the first time, beautiful patterns representing the birds of the country were drawn on the admission guide cards of athletes from various countries. Because there is no national bird in China, before the opening ceremony, the China Ornithological Society and other units discussed it repeatedly and finally chose the golden pheasant.

Xu Shuwei, vice chairman of the China Bird Association: "We consider the golden rooster for several reasons.

Golden pheasant with red belly, commonly known as golden rooster. For more than three years, it has been used as the emblem of China ornithology and civil society, and in a sense, it is also exercising the glorious duty of "representing the national bird".

However, golden pheasant has to face many challenges if it wants to become a full member from a "national bird". Experts in the field of ornithology generally believe that at present, the more competitive candidates are at least crested ibis and red-crowned cranes.

Xu, vice chairman of the China Bird Association, said: "In 2002, the International Conference on Birds was held in Beijing. Because the international name Zhu has caused a sensation in the world, people know that China in China is very good at painting and poetry. "

Red-crowned crane is a unique bird in East Asia and a famous cultural bird in China. Although it is also found in Japan, North Korea and South Korea, the largest number is China, which is also the most sensitive animal to the change of wetland environment. Supporters believe that the selection of red-crowned cranes will be beneficial to the protection of wetland environment in China. However, there are also views that red-crowned cranes belong to migratory birds and should not be selected as national birds.

Xu, vice chairman of the China Bird Association, said: "Our academic circles tend to take China's characteristic resident birds as an education."

Background link: National birds of some countries in the world.

America-vulture

Japanese green pheasant

Finland-Swan

Albanian-Shan Ying

Danish lark

Dominic macaw

French rooster

Kenya-rooster

India-Blue Peacock

South Africa-Blue Crane

Australia-Qinniao Laughing Bird EMU

Fiji-pigeon

Philippines-Monkey Eater Eagle

Korea-magpie

Background link: Birds in some provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China.

Swan-Xinjiang, Heilongjiang

Black-necked Crane-Qinghai

Blue Horse Chicken-Ningxia

Zhushanxi

Brown eared pheasant-Shanxi

Golden pheasant with red belly-Gansu, Sichuan and Guizhou

Red-crowned Crane-Jilin

Inner Mongolia bailing

Red-footed boobies-Hainan

Silver pheasant-Guangdong

Great Egret-Liaoning

Seagull-Tianjin

Grey Magpie-Shandong, Anhui Province

Magpie-Jiangsu

China's "national flower, national bird, national stone and national tree" (hereinafter referred to as the "Four Kingdoms") is difficult to choose, because China has the most diverse natural areas in the world and is extremely rich in animal and plant species, so it is difficult to choose the "Four Kingdoms" in such a big country.

Look at the candidates for the "Four Kingdoms": national flowers-peony, orchid, plum blossom, cuckoo and so on. National birds-Phoenix, golden pheasant with red belly, red-crowned crane, Zhu Huan, etc. National Stone-Hetian Jade, xiuyan jade, Shoushan Stone, Bahrain Stone, etc. National trees-ginkgo, bamboo, yellow pine, willow, etc. There are so many candidates that it is difficult to choose.

However, you can only choose one national flower and one national bird ...? I do not think this is necessarily the case. Because only a small country can make such a "unique" choice easily, how can a big country like China, with its diverse nature and splendid culture, love only one flower and only one bird? For example, if I choose the national flower, it is really difficult for me to distinguish peony, plum blossom, orchid and cuckoo.

In the face of controversy, we should think about the original intention of choosing the "four countries". Some people say that choosing the "Four Kingdoms" is to create four new business cards for China. Accordingly, the role of the "four countries" seems to be a sign and recognition, which is the need of diplomacy. In fact, this function of a country is undertaken by the national flag, national emblem and national anthem.

Others say that the "Four Kingdoms" are a demonstration of a country's natural uniqueness and cultural richness. On the contrary, I don't think the "Four Kingdoms" can show the natural and cultural diversity and richness of a country. For example, no matter what kind of "Four Kingdoms" China evaluates, it can't reflect China's natural diversity and splendid culture. I think the sign of a big country in this respect is that it has a good geography magazine.

In my opinion, the main reason for choosing "Four Kingdoms" is "love". This is a concentrated and concise expression of a nation's love for nature. It can also be said that the evaluation of the Romance of the Four Kingdoms is a manifestation of the gradual influence of ecological consciousness and green thought. For example, the Mauritians chose the dodo, which was extinct due to human slaughter, as the national bird. This is not only a memorial to the dodo, but also a warning to mankind to make the same mistake in a hurry.

The selection of the "Four Kingdoms" began with 1782, marked by the selection of the American national bird vulture, and has become a great spectacle until today. Most countries have their own "four kingdoms". This phenomenon shows that the relationship between man and nature is not utilitarian, and nature is not only a "resource" in human eyes, but also the object that human beings take, use, explore, seek and destroy. She can be the object of emotion, the attachment of spirit, the symbol of culture and the goal of faith. People can "worship, admire, fear, love and believe."

In fact, the relationship between early human beings and nature is not a "resource relationship". Most ancient people have a tendency to worship nature, which shows that "totem" is a universal world phenomenon in ancient times. Ancient people worshipped an animal or plant as their own source or sacred power, which was called totem. China's "Phoenix" is the totem of various tribes gradually merged in the process of the reunification of the Chinese nation (so is the dragon). Although she is a real bird, she is a "spirit bird" of the Chinese nation. Therefore, the choice of "Phoenix" by the national bird can not only balance the different choices made by various regions and interests, but also realize the uniqueness of the national bird. Because Phoenix's "one" is "many".

The era of totem is long gone. Today, from the industrial revolution to technology-led, nature is no longer the object of emotion and awe, but only the resource of enjoyment and domination. When we see a tree, we will think of what building materials we can make. What is the economic value of fruit? When we look at a flower, we no longer pay attention to the beauty of the flower, but how much profit industrialization can bring ... The world has lost its various meanings and values, leaving only one: material desire.

From Bacon's "knowledge is power" to landing on Mars today, our culture has become a culture of "demonstrating" to nature. Faced with a series of difficulties, such as pollution, energy crisis, nuclear threat, global warming, sea level rise, genetic modification and human cloning, human beings began to think about "demonstrating" or "showing love" to nature.

The selection of "Four Kingdoms" is one of our efforts to return to nature, mend fences with nature and "show love" to nature. If The Four Kingdoms has any function, I think it can help people to establish emotional connection with nature, communicate with nature and express their appreciation, gratitude and love for nature.

We have noticed that there are still some discordant voices in this effort. For example, although the silver pheasant has been rated as a provincial bird in Guangdong, people are still confused about whether to eat the cultured silver pheasant. There are economic development prospects in the selection criteria of national stone ... I think, since the silver pheasant has been rated as a provincial bird, why eat her? Is it "you must eat what you can eat"? I also doubt that Shiguo regards market prospect as one of the criteria for selection. If so, wouldn't Stone State become a permanent advertisement? I hope that the "Four Kingdoms" is not an advertisement, but a new "totem" of mankind.

I think the significance of evaluating the activities of the "Four Kingdoms" is not only at the national and provincial levels, but also within the scope of cities, counties and towns. I hope that when I walk into a county, I can see and hear the signs and stories of flowers, trees, birds and stones in the county. Not only flowers, birds, trees and stones, but also animals, insects, fish and grass, as long as they have characteristics, because there is an exciting point in this era: diversity.

From May to June, a series of birds and mascots are popular on the Internet.

Organized by China Wildlife Association, China News Agency and Sina.com in conjunction with more than 20 news websites, this online recommendation activity for the mascot and national bird of the 2008 Olympic Games has attracted 3 1 overseas Chinese in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government and Southeast Asia for more than 565,438+million votes in 22 days. Among the 10 candidates provided by the China Wildlife Association, the giant panda and the red-crowned crane, a traditional cultural bird in China, are the Olympic mascots and national birds selected by netizens respectively.

The pain of "national bird"

National birds, known as national business cards, are mostly rare and unique birds or birds with important value and significance, and even the pride and symbol of a country and a nation.

As early as 1782, the United States Congress identified the bald eagle as the national bird, becoming the first country to identify the national bird. Subsequently, the pattern of vulture appeared on the national emblem, military emblem and military emblem of the United States.

Due to years of environmental pollution and human overfishing, the number of many birds is decreasing, and some of them are even extinct or endangered. The International Congress for the Protection of Birds calls on all countries to choose their own national birds and popularize the concept of bird protection among their citizens. At present, whether a country has a national bird and related bird-loving actions has been regarded as a sign of its ecological protection level, social culture and civilization progress and development.

As early as 1960s, some scholars suggested that China should choose its own national bird. Xu, vice chairman of the China ornithology society and a famous ornithologist, said, "This matter must first be approved by the government, then passed by the National People's Congress, and finally determined by legislation."

Xu introduced an episode: At the Universiade held in Beijing in 20001,Beijing leaders said (they didn't realize that there was no national bird in China) that for the first time in the history of the World Games, national birds of various countries could be used as the background pattern for the opening ceremony of guide card to reflect the theme of the Green Games. In the end, Xu and experts from Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, Beijing Forestry Bureau and Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences agreed to temporarily use the golden pheasant, the emblem of the Chinese Bird Society, to "save the field".

About the national bird, it has become a knot that many scholars and experts can't solve.

Rare bird collection

Brown pheasant, black-faced spoonbill, falcon ... This list looks more like a record of rare birds in China. According to the evaluation principle of "uniqueness, appreciation and universality" of China's national birds, the candidate bird species 10 was finally determined after expert review. For most people, except Magpie and love birds, the rest are rare birds in the zoo, and some birds have never even heard of their names.

There are more than 1300 species of birds in China, accounting for 13.5% of the world's bird species. The wider the territory, the richer the resources and the longer the history, the different places and nationalities have different recognition of birds. Therefore, experts emphasize the choice of birds unique to China, but as long as they are unique to a country, they are basically endangered, which is difficult for ordinary people to see, and they can only pick out their "most familiar" ones from the rare ones.

In many countries, their national bird is the most familiar and favorite bird. For example, France and Belgium choose rooster and swallow as their national birds respectively.

"The red-crowned crane can be elected with a high vote because the people are familiar with and love the crane culture; In addition, we usually don't give enough publicity to birds, and many people don't know about other birds. The selection of national birds is also an opportunity to popularize and enhance the knowledge and awareness of bird love to the whole people. " Xu said to me.

Ornithologists "incidentally" popularized the knowledge of birds in the selection of popular birds. Some netizens once questioned the objectivity and fairness of the "national bird" election, but this revealed more about the size of a country and the narrow channels of bird knowledge dissemination.

Civil network bird love action

This selection from the Internet, with more than 3 million participants and 565,438+10,000 votes in 22 days, greatly surprised the organizers.

Chen Runsheng, one of the organizers and secretary general of the Wildlife Conservation Association, believes that this is a reflection of the national awareness of wildlife conservation.

It may take a long time to officially select the "national bird", but this time, the enthusiasm for bird love aroused by more than 3 million people on the Internet not only surprised bird experts, but also inspired relevant departments: how to guide the public's awareness and behavior of bird love after enthusiasm?

In 2004, deputies to the National People's Congress submitted a motion on this. A person from the Ministry of Forestry said that the selection of national trees, national flowers and national birds has been included in the work plan, and it is currently in the preparatory stage, and it is planned to be selected before 2008.