Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part Two

In this post we complete our investigation into the secrets of the Dragon and Phoenix mirrors and related lore surrounding them as revealed throughout the Shenmue games.

In Part One, we looked at the following topics:

• Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star
• The Xing Xiu and People's Fates
• Five Stars Corp.
• Sword of Seven Stars
• I Smell Treasure
• The Chi You
• The Mirrors & the Qing Dynasty

This time, we will go deeper into the mysteries with the following topics:

• The Prophecy
• Shenmue's Bad Ending
• The Origin of the Mirrors
• Photo of the Imperial Envoy
• The Last Emperor: Pu Yi
• The Purpose of the Verdant Bridge
• The Envoy's Mission
• The Scroll
• The Cliff Temple

Spoiler Warning: This post covers story-related aspects from the first three games.

The Prophecy

A reference to the Dragon and Phoenix together also occurs outside of gameplay, in the prologue of each of the games in the series, in which Shenhua is heard reciting the prophecy (see also our comparison of the various versions of the prophecy to date).

This wording is from the Shenmue II version:

Shenhua: A Dragon shall emerge from the earth, and dark clouds shall obscure the heavens. A Phoenix shall descend from above, its wings will create a purple wind. In the midst of the pitch-black night, a morning star shall glisten, alone...

These words paint imagery of a conflict or dramatic event involving a Dragon and Phoenix in some form.

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Mirror Lore & Celestial Connections in Shenmue | Part One

The Phoenix and Dragon mirrors lie at the core of Shenmue's story right from the beginning, with Lan Di and his henchmen seizing one of the mirrors from the Hazuki Dojo in the shocking opening scene of Iwao's murder. From there, Ryo stumbles upon a web of interconnected topics and events, ranging from the significance of constellations in the sky, to an imperial order made long ago.

In this series of posts, we will carry out an in-depth review of several inter-related elements and clues that Ryo learns along his journey in the course of the first three games and see how they fit together.

We'll also highlight a number of translation clarifications along the way, where the English version of certain lines gives a different (possibly even incorrect) impression from the original Japanese.

Spoiler Warning: This post covers story-related aspects from the first three games.

These are the topics we will be covering in today's post:

• Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star
• The Xing Xiu and People's Fates
• Five Stars Corp.
• Sword of Seven Stars
• I Smell Treasure
• The Chi You
• The Mirrors & the Qing Dynasty

We start our exploration with the Phoenix Mirror that Ryo discovers early in the first game in the basement of the Dojo.

Ancient Beliefs: the Guardians of the North Star

Ryo visits the Russiya China shop in Dobuita, and shows the Phoenix Mirror to the shop owner, Xiuyu Xia.

Xiuyu explains the significance that people in China attach to the Phoenix, and that it has a presence in the night sky:

Xiuyu: In China the Phoenix is the legendary bird of fortune... It's a guardian for the Sky Lord. 

Xiuyu examines the Phoenix mirror at the Russiya China shop

Xiuyu: The other guardian is the Dragon. In China, people consider the North Star to be the lord of the sky. Look, there. [pointing to a map on the wall] That is an old Chinese map in stone, see? It's a map of the Big Dipper from the Han Dynasty.

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