Pheasant (pronounced fez-uhnt)
(1) Any of various long-tailed gallinaceous birds of the
family Phasianidae, esp Phasianus colchicus (ring-necked pheasant), having a
brightly-coloured plumage in the male: native to Asia but now widely dispersed.
(2) Any of various other gallinaceous birds of the family
Phasianidae, including the quails and partridges
(3) Any of several other gallinaceous birds, especially
the ruffed grouse.
(4) The meat of such a bird, served as food.
1250–1300: From the Middle English fesaunt & fesant,
from the Anglo-French fesaunt, from
the Old French fesan, from the Latin phāsiānus, from the Ancient Greek φᾱσιανός (phāsiānós órnis) (Phasian bird; bird of the river Φᾶσις (Phâsis (in Colchis in the Caucauses were the birds existed in
prolific number)), named after the River Phasis, in which flows into the Black
Sea at Colchis in the Caucauses. It replaced
the native Old English wōrhana, a
variant of mōrhana. The ph- from the Greek was restored in English
by the late fourteenth century while the wholly unetymological -t exists
because of confusion with –ant (a suffix of nouns, formed from present
participle of verbs in first Latin conjugation (ancient, pageant, tyrant,
peasant; also talaunt, a former
Middle English variant of talon, etc.). The
Latin was the source also of the Spanish faisan,
the Portuguese feisão, the German Fasan and the Russian bazhantu; the Welsh was ffesant and
the Cornish fesont. In England, Pheasant was used
as surname from the mid-twelfth century (and assumed occupational (pheasant
farmer)). The form in the Medieval Latin was fasianus. A pheasantry is a place for keeping and
rearing pheasants and the most common collective noun for a group of pheasants
is bevy (less commonly a bouquet (when flushed), or nye. Pheasant & pheasantry are nouns,
pheasantless & pheasantlike are adjectives; the noun plural is pheasants.
The golden pheasants
There are more than two dozen taxonomic species within the family
Phasianidae (pheasants), one of which is the golden pheasant (Chrysolophus
pictus, known also as the “Chinese pheasant”), a game bird native to the
forests of mountainous areas of western China.
The plumage of the males is famously vibrant which makes it a favorite among
bird watchers and photographers while the female is a duller-mottled brown
plumage, something common among many avian species including the peacock &
peahen, the evolutionary advantage being the fine camouflage it afforded against
the forest floor.
In the Third Reich (1933-1945)
the term Goldfasane (golden pheasants) was a derisive nickname used of
high-ranking members of the Nazi Party (and their wives), the name an allusion
to (1) the golden hue of the fabric of the party uniform, (2) their tendency to
appear well fed (al la a plump pheasant fattened for slaughter) at a time when
much of the population was living under harsh food rationing and (3) their ostentation
and self-importance (like a colorful and strutting pheasant). Shades of brown actually became the part’s
official color only by chance. After
Germany lost its African and tropical Pacific colonies after World War I
(1914-1948), a huge stock of khaki uniforms and other kit became available and these the party purchased
at low cost. As a general principle, the
more exalted the office, the more golden the shade of fabric used for the garb.
There is also the Golden
Pheasant Award (きじ章 (kiji-shō) or
金鳳賞 (Kinpōshō)),
the highest award for adult leaders in the Scout Association of Japan and
although it was first conferred in 1952, there’s no record of whether the
earlier sardonic German slang was discussed when deciding on a name. Officially awarded by the Chief Scout of
Japan, recipients are chosen by a selection committee (an institution at which
the Japanese excel) on the basis of their eminent achievement and meritorious
service to the Association for a period of at least twenty years. Most awards have been granted to Japanese
citizens but the distinction may be granted to any member of a scout association
affiliated with the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The golden pheasant has symbolic significance
in Japanese culture, where pheasants (particularly the green pheasant (Phasianus
versicolor), Japan's national bird) have been revered for their grace and
connection to nature and they convey an aura of prestige and distinction due to
the majestic appearance. The award consists
of a medallion depicting a stylized golden pheasant, suspended from a white
ribbon with two red stripes worn around the neck. The attendant uniform ribbon (worn above the left breast pocket),
consists of two red stripes on a white background with a 5 mm golden device of
the Japanese Scout emblem.
It is of course a great honor to join
the exclusive club of those with a Golden Pheasant but the evidence
does suggest it’s something of a kiss of political death for those statesmen
(Golden Pheasants a male thing) so dubbed, their careers ending
often not well. Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US
president 1969-1974) was awarded his in 1953 during a visit to Japan while
VPOTUS (vice-president of the US (an office he held 1953-1961), the brief
ceremony conducted in Tokyo after his luncheon address to the America-Japan
Society. In 1974, Mr Nixon was forced to
resign the presidency after revelations of his conduct during the Watergate Scandal.
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980; the last Shah of Iran 1941-1979) gained his Golden Pheasant in 1957. In 1979 he was overthrown in the revolution which brought to power Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-1989; Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1979-1989) and the establishment of the Islamic Republic. Also honored in the same year was Sir Walter Nash (1882–1968; prime-minister of New Zealand 1957-1960); he lost the 1960 general election and never regained power. A royal recipient was Constantine II (1940–2023; the last King of Greece 1964-1973) who was honored upon assuming the throne in 1964. Constantine was forced into exile after a military putsch in 1967 (the so-called “Colonels' Coup”) and the monarchy was abolished in 1973, something confirmed by two subsequent referenda (1973 & 1974).
Golden Pheasant aspirant: A Japanese scout pack leader (left) with his pack of cub scouts, circa 1964.
Gerald Ford (1913–2006; US president 1974-1977) was in 1974 created a Golden Pheasant (while VPOTUS) and he went on to lose the 1976 presidential election. He did however have the satisfaction of knowing not only did the man who beat him (Jimmy Carter (b 1924; US President 1977-1981)) never become a Golden Pheasant, but also turned out to be “a bit of a turkey”. Paras Bir Bikram Shahdev (b 1971; last Crown Prince of Nepal, heir apparent to the throne 2001-2008) became a Golden Pheasant in 2005. In 2001, there was what is now an uncommon act of regicide known as the Durbar Hatyakanda (Nepalese royal massacre) which was actually a family squabble, the assassin of nine members of the dynasty (including the king & queen) being Crown Prince Dipendra (1971-2001) who, by virtue of the constitutional arrangements, for three days reigned while in a coma before succumbing to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Subsequently, there was a peaceful transition to a republic and in 2008 the world’s last Hindu monarchy was abolished. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004; US president 1981-1989) was the last POTUS to become a recipient and his second term was tainted by Iran-Contragate affair. Given the history, it may be the State Department has instructed the ambassador to Tokyo quietly to inform the Chief Scout presidents prefer not to become Golden Pheasants and that perhaps a gift like a ceremonial woggle would be more appropriate.
Yoshirō Mori (森 喜朗, Mori Yoshirō san, b 1937; prime minister of Japan 2000-2001) actually anticipated the “curse of the Golden Pheasant” leaving office after a gaff-prone two year term some time before he gained the award in 2003. Mori san was notable for his consistently low approval ratings while prime-minister and most public opinion polls published towards the end of his tenure hovered between 7-12% of Japanese voters having a positive view of his premiership. However, one newspaper published a poll which reported he had a zero (0%) rating, believed to be the lowest suffered by any politician since polling became (more-or-less) scientific in the 1940s. It can’t have been much fun for Mori san at breakfast; he’d have just started to enjoy his gohan (steamed rice), misoshiru (miso soup) yakizakana (grilled fish), tsukemono (pickled vegetables), tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) and ryokucha (green tea), only to open the morning paper and find out nobody in the country liked him. Still, as a consolation, Mori san has his Golden Pheasant.
Pheasant Plucking
The pheasant features in a favorite schoolboy rhyme, said
to have origins in an eighteenth century English village where it was composed
by Elias, a wandering bard performing at one of the hamlet's “grand pheasant festivals”;
he’d been much impressed by the efficient and rhythmic plucking of pheasants by
champion pheasant plucker Tom Fletcher. Whether
or not that story is true isn’t known but it (and other variations) is a common
tale. In its modern form the
tongue-twister appears usually as:
I'm not the
pheasant plucker,
I'm only the
pheasant plucker's son,
But I'll keep
on plucking pheasants
'Till the
pheasant plucker comes.
The verse was soon as much a part of the festivals as the
pheasant plucking proper and was popular drinking game, those making a mistake
during a recital having to drink a pint of ale before having another
attempt. The extended version read:
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