Kunpeng

The Giant Fish-Bird

A colossal fish of the Northern Sea that transforms into a giant bird whose wings spread like clouds across the sky — the great image of freedom from Zhuangzi.

The Zhuangzi opens: "In the Northern Sea there is a fish named Kun, whose size spans who knows how many thousand li. It transforms into a bird named Peng... when it rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky." Kunpeng's soaring ascent became the enduring metaphor for boundless ambition and spiritual freedom.