The Shrike

original: 伯勞, Bolao. Commonly known in English as the Shrike or "Butcherbird," known for its habit of impaling prey on thorns.

It is also known as the Zelao, the Hu, or the Yiyi. Today, it is common for people to keep the chicks as pets and train them to perform dances.

The Meat

Flavor and Nature Sweet, warming, and non-toxic.
Primary Vitality Used for the wasting and weakening of the muscles; it benefits the skin. Wang Ying Wang Ying was a Ming dynasty scholar known for his work on dietetics.

Explanation of Names

The Little Wren from the Commentary on the "Xia Calendar" original: 伯鷯, Boliao. The Xia Xiaozheng is one of the oldest Chinese agricultural calendars., The Laborer from the "Commentary on the Odes" original: 博勞, Bolao., The Dark Omen from the "Zuo Zhuan" chronicles original: 伯趙, Bo Zhao., The Ju-bird from the "Odes of Bin" original: 鵙, Ju., The Jue-bird from the phonetic meanings of "Mencius" original: 鴃, Jue.

Official Commentary: Bo Zhao is mentioned in the Zuo Zhuan; the character Jue is pronounced similarly to "shout" or "stink."

Shizhen says: According to Cao Zhi’s A famous poet and prince of the Three Kingdoms period (192–232 CE). Essay on Evil Birds, the bird is named after its cry, which sounds like "jue-jue." It moves in response to the rising of Yin energy The cooling, dark, and receptive force in traditional Chinese philosophy, associated here with the approach of winter. and is a bird of prey. While common people believe its call is an evil omen, the learned man ignores such things. There is a legend that the ancient official Yin Jifu believed the slanders of his second wife and killed his son, Boqi. Boqi was then transformed into this bird. Consequently, families where this bird sings believe it brings misfortune. This is merely the speculative talk of those fond of inventing stories. The name Bolao is simply an imitation of its sound. Bo Zhao refers to its color being as black as soap; "Zhao" is likely a phonetic corruption of the word for "soap-black."

Collected Explanations

Shizhen says: The Shrike is the same as the Ju bird. It sings in the summer and falls silent in the winter; it is a bird used to mark the seasons in the Monthly Ordinances original: 月令, Yue Ling. A classic text recording ritual and agricultural activities by month.. The ancient pharmacopeias did not describe its appearance, so later generations remained ignorant of it. Guo Pu’s commentary on the "Erya" Guo Pu (276–324 CE) was a famous commentator and scholar of the Jin dynasty.