Fenghuang (Chinese phoenix)
The Fenghuang, the Chinese phoenix, is likely a pun with Chinese fanhuan for “trading” & “substituting”, much like its Semitic counterpart. It may hint at secret trade, but also at disguising the truth.
The global word root √pn for “exchanging” includes the derived meaning “trade”, but also “exchanging” things as a disguise. The same is true for the Chinese variant fan in its various pronunciations & spellings. The Chinese phoenix fènghuáng pairs this with a second root huan, also with many spellings. This root also means “changing”, but has even more negative derivations such as “lying”.
That both syllables mean the same thing is evidence that the Chinese fenghuang “phoenix” isn’t just any random word for an actual bird. Rather, it was coined by people who wanted to express an “exchange” of some sort. I assume that cryptocracy wasn’t a Semitic monopoly, but a globally networked phenomenon, and that the Chinese rulers had their own version.
Chinese fenghuang = phoenix, fanhuan = exchange
Chinese fan = return, reverse, imitate, trade
返 fǎn : to return (to), to come or go back (to); to return, to give back; to go to, back — Chinese (Wikt)
反 fǎn : reverse, opposite, contrary, anti-; to return, to move back; to return, to give back; to repeat; to revenge; to revolt; to reflect (on one’s actions); to infer, analogize; to oppose; instead; to redress; to pour; to flip over — Chinese (Wikt)
仿 fǎng : to imitate; to resemble; to be similar — Chinese (Wikt)
販 fàn : to deal in, to trade in, to traffic; peddler, hawker, street merchant — Chinese (Wikt)
Chinese huan = return, change, substitute, untruth
還 huán : to return to a place, to go back to a place; to return an object, to give back; to do or give something in return; a surname — Chinese (Wikt)
換 huàn : to change, to swap, to switch, to substitute — Chinese (Wikt)
晃 huǎng; huàng : bright, dazzling; to sway, to shake — Chinese (Wikt)
恍 huǎng : seemingly, as if — Chinese (Wikt)
謊 huǎng : lie, untruth — Chinese (Wikt)