凤车图【英】

Phoenix Chariot

定义

壁画中一种由凤凰挽拉的车。凤凰是想像中的一种神鸟，象征吉祥。西王母之乘车，无轮，敞式车厢，车厢下垂帐，中央树华盖，华盖顶挂幡，车前四凤挽拉，车后插旌旗。中国古代以凤凰喻皇后，其乘辇亦称凤辇车。

Phoenix Chariot: in the Dunhuang murals, the Phoenix Chariot is pulled by the phoenix, a mythical bird considered auspicious in Chinese mythology. Ridden by the deity Xi Wangmu (“Queen Mother of the West”), the chariot is an open carriage without a wheel, drawn by four phoenixes. A baldachin or canopy is hung above the center of the carriage, with a long narrow flag on the pole top, and banners flying at the rear of the carriage. In ancient China, the phoenix was a metaphor for an empress or queen, thus her conveyance was known as a Phoenix Chariot.