Crow

The crow has a divided reading in Chinese tradition: it is the sun's bird in the oldest sources and a doubtful omen in later popular usage. The three-legged crow in the sun is an ancient image, while the crow's call carries a separate and less favourable folk reading. Both are live and they contradict each other.

Its use is documented across several registers at once. The crow has a divided reading in Chinese tradition: it is the sun's bird in the oldest sources and a doubtful omen in later popular usage. The tradition's own inconsistency here is the notable feature — the same bird is solar in one register and unlucky in another, and the two were never reconciled.

Sources describe the sun crow with three legs, which is the oldest form, and the later folk association with unhappy news is a separate development. It is grouped under Water (水) in the five-element system.