Mikado Pheasant-male (86cm).
Large blue-black long-tailed pheasant endemic to the high mountains of Taiwan. A poorish shot of a splendid male Mikado Pheasant I came across early one morning along the roadside last month very close to the Anmashan Lodge.
High up in Taiwan's central mountains dwells the Emperor of the High Mountains. Thrust up from the depths of the Pacific 2 million years ago, the island of Taiwan reaches upward with the highest mountains in East Asia (Yushan 3952m, highest mountain in Asia east of the Himalayas, south of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and north of Borneo's Mt Kinabalu.). More than 200 peaks rise to over 3000m running north to south forming the island's spectacular mountainous spine.
The high mountains of Taiwan were hostile to outsiders. Fierce head-hunting mountain tribes, Taiwan Black Bears and Formosan Clouded Leopards inhabited these lofty heights. If the head-hunters or wild animals didn't get you the extreme weather; winter blizzards and summer typhoons; and treacherous slippery slopes surely would. The avian wonders of the high places remained undiscovered until the early twentieth century.
As the Japanese rulers of Taiwan started to subdue the mountain tribes from 1895 explorers and naturalists were able to venture into some of the high interior and visit a few of the mid altitude aboriginal villages.
One such naturalist was Walter Goodfellow. In February 1906 he spotted long blue and white tail feathers in an aboriginal headdress. He could see that they belonged to a pheasant. Goodfellow knew pheasants well enough to know that these feathers came from a pheasant that wasn't yet known to science.
High in the mountains the mist and rain nourish the cloud forests. In the high places one can watch the sunrise as golden rays break through the sea of clouds below into the clear blue skies above the clouds. As noon approaches the mist and clouds consume all. Some may think the afternoon mist and rain gloomy but others hold different views.
In ancient times the mist and rain symbolized the mating of heaven and earth. The legend of the King of Sichuan and the Lady of Wushan (Sorcery Mountain) tells that when these lovers parted, the Lady told the King: "I live on the southern slope of Wushan, on top of a high hill. At dawn I am the morning clouds; in the evening I am the pouring rain. Every morning and night I hover about these mountains."
The legend established a standard for Chinese writers. Clouds symbolise the essence of the woman and rain that of the man.
The Han believe that swirling mountain mists possess wondrous curative powers, due to their high concentrations of "chi." "Chi" is vital energy, the foundation of all Chinese physical and spiritual thinking and beliefs. "Chi" is the basic force that drives all forms of life. The most powerful "chi" is found in mountain mists.
The legend of the "Lady of Wushan" suggests that mountain mists are the vital essence emitted during the mating of Heaven and Earth. The Han have an ancient custom called "teng-kao"-ascending high places. The custom holds that the "chi" found in mountain mists strengthens longevity and virtue.
In Taiwan's high mountains dwells a regal long-tailed pheasant. He is clad in velvety royal blue plumage with a sprinkling of late autumn snow. His facial skin glows red as a burning ember. He dwells in the realm above that of mortals in the company of the gods. His kingdom is above the sea of clouds. Each day the rising sun ascends into his domain shooting golden arrows of light as it swims upward through the sea of clouds to greet him. Here, in his heavenly kingdom amongst the flowering rhododendrons, dwarf bamboo canes and ghostly Yushan Junipers rules the Emperor of the High Places. When Goodfellow saw him he instinctively knew what he had found. He called him "Mikado," the Japanese word for Emperor. He had found the King of the Pheasants.
