The word totem comes from a Native American language, which means an image of an animal related to a group of people. A dragon and a phoenix, called Loong and Feng in Chinese respectively, are totems of the Chinese people. Belief in the dragon, and drawings of the imaginary animal, can be traced back to primitive society when prehistoric tribes in China adopted the dragon among other totems as their symbol and guardian god.
　　The phoenix was commonly referred to as the “King of Birds”, or a supernatural bird. It embodied the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity.
　　The dragon and phoenix were used to decorate painted pottery and jade carvings in primitive society. The founding of the unified empire in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) provided a base and motivation to develop the ancient Chinese palace architecture. Stone carvings, engraved brick, bronze ware and lacquer paintings were growing quickly. For the first time, the dragon and phoenix were heavily used on imperial architecture, especially on the imperial palaces’ roofs, beams, pillars, and doors. Chinese architecture, as a kind of oriental art, has enveloped mystery with the decoration of the dragon and phoenix.
　　Chinese buildings, primarily timberwork, were formed into a system in the Qin and Han (206 BC–220 AD) dynasties. With the dragon totem, mag- nificent palatial architecture boarded this stage of history. From then on, the dragon and phoenix were status symbols of authority figures, treasure and emperors or the empresses. Decorations on the architecture of the Han Dynasty were single or and nose to tail dragon decorative patterns, which was basically Ying Loong with a long muzzle and neck.
　　With the collision of Buddhist art and traditional Chinese art, the dragon from the Wei (220-265) and Jin (265-581) dynasties had ripples and a longer body and limbs. During the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, dragons, with curly grass carving patterns, were always decorated on steles. In the Song (960-1279) and Yuan(1271-1368) periods, the shape of the dragon developed into a unique style as well as inheriting traditional techniques. In Ming (136-1644) and Qing(1644-1911) dynasties, the dragon and phoenix were used to represent emperors and their consorts and were the main decorative patterns seen on various imperial structures. palaces, columns, pathways and screen walls were all inscribed, carved or painted with their images.
　　The phoenix decorative pattern on architecture first appeared in the Qin and Han dynasties. The pattern was discrepant in different regions but mostly had the head of a golden pheasant, the beak of a parrot, the body of a mandarin duck, the wings of a roe, the feathers of a peacock and the legs of a crane.
　　In the Wei and Jin dynasties, craftsmen injected a new spirit of ideas into the image of the phoenix. The dragon-phoenix pattern absorbed the essence of foreign and Chinese tradi- tional architectural art. The phoenix on the steles of the Sui and Tang dynasties was more similar to raptors. In the Song and Yuan dynasties, the phoenix was overwhelming and vigorous, which was full of romanticism. The dragon, phoenix and peony were common decoration themes in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The phoenix was generally decorated with a ribbon and colorful feather, which is gloriously beautiful.
　　Chinese architecture is famous for timberwork, which is a platform for the dragon and phoenix totem. In the imperial palaces, the dragon and the phoenix were the principal motifs for decorative designs on the buildings. The daily clothing and articles for emperors and empresses were decorated with the dragon and phoenix. The throne hall was supported by columns entwined by gilded dragons, the central ramps on marble steps were paved with huge slabs carved in relief with the dragon and phoenix, and the screen walls display dragons in brilliant colors.
　　As a kind of unique building decoration style in China, the dragon and phoenix decorative patterns have been developed over thousands of years in the fertile land of the ancient Chinese civilization and showed social ideology and humanities in the spirit of Chinese ancestors. As Chinese style is prevalent today, the ancient Chinese dragon and phoenix totem shows the oriental fashion, and the culture of the dragon and phoenix have become an indispensable decorative element in Chinese architecture.