Author
Book
Awards
J. J. CHENG 程一若
Award-Winning Author, Filmmaker & Intercultural Commnetator
Creator of PHOENIXA Saga
A Mystical Quest for Peace
PHOENIXA: THE NEST
Part of
PHOENIXA:
A Mystical Quest for peace
Nautilus Book Award 2026
Gold Winner
Literary Titan Book Award 2026
Somerst Book Award
Semi-Finalist 2025
Quick Facts
Critical Praise
About PHOENIXA
🏅 Gold Winner — Nautilus Book Awards 2026
🏅 Gold Winner — Literary Titan Book Award 2026
🏅 Semi-Finalist — Somerset Book Award 2025
Author
J.J. Cheng, aka Phoenixa Cheng, 程一若
Work
PHOENIXA®: THE NEST
A Mystical Quest for the Cheng Legacy
Series
A four-book mythic cycle
The Nest · The Flight · The Return
& The Prequel: The One
Format
Hardback, Paperback
eBook & Cinematic Audiobook
Status
Expanding into a cross-media mythic universe
Genre
Mythic Literary Fiction / Mystical Realism
Fantasy, Adventure
Theme
Memory, Myth, and the Human Quest
for Inner and World Peace
Companion
CHENG LEGACY
An Ancestral Quest for Modern China
A Documentary Series
Quote
“Power is the Dragon. Peace is the Fenghuang —
Between them lies the destiny of humankind.”
— J.J. Cheng
“a stunning “mystical realism” debut, blending personal memoir with Chinese history.”
–Litary Titan Book Review
-- Book Life Book Review
Human Endeavor Toward Cosmic Peace.
PHOENIXA® is a mythic literary work of mystical realism by J.J. Cheng, where myth and memory converge with lived history. Set against the turbulence of modern China, the story follows a wild-hearted girl who journeys through a world shaped by ancient cosmology and ancestral legacy, guided by the spirit of the Fenghuang—her Renaissance grandfather—on a quest to confront human greed and restore a path to peace.
Rooted in Chinese antiquity yet resonant with contemporary global tensions, PHOENIXA unfolds as both personal odyssey and civilizational reflection—where the search for inner peace becomes inseparable from the fate of the world.
PHOENIXA® is a trademarked literary work that establishes a four-book mythic cycle, exploring ancestral legacy through a rare, deeply personal yet universal East–West narrative. PHOENIXA invites us to ask: can peace be achieved without restoring memory or what history has silenced?
PHOENIXA® 是 J.J. Cheng（程一若）創作的一部「神秘現實主義」文學作品，在神話、記憶與真實歷史之間交織融合。故事以動盪中的現代中國為背景，講述一位天性自由、不受束縛的少女，在古老宇宙觀與祖先精神傳承所塑造的世界中展開旅程；而引領她的，正是化身為鳳凰精神的「文藝復興式祖父」。在這場追尋之中，她試圖直面人性的貪婪，重新尋回通往和平的道路。
植根於中國古老文明精神，同時回應當代全球緊張局勢，《PHOENIXA》既是一場個體靈魂與命運的追尋，也是一部對文明未來的深刻省思
PHOENIXA® 是一部已註冊商標的神話文學作品，構建出一個橫跨四部曲的宏大敘事，以罕見而深具個人性、同時具有普世意義的東西方視角，探索祖先傳承與文明記憶。《PHOENIXA》向世人提出一個深刻的問題：若無法重拾記憶、尋回那些被歷史沉默的真相，人類是否真正能夠走向和平？
“As the tide of global conflict rises and the world turns to the Dragon of power, PHOENIXA summons the Feng Huang—the Chinese Phoenix, an ancient force of peace.”
— J.J. Cheng
PRESS MATERIALS
- J.J. CHENG Author Bio (pdf)
- PHOENIXA Book Synopsis
- PHOENIXA Press Release
- PHOENIXA: THE NEST Book Cover (High Resolution)
- Why PHOENIXA Matters Now
- PHOENIXA Media Story Angels
- PHOENIXA Fact Sheet
- CHENG LEGACY Poster
- CHENG LEGACY Synospsis
CREATIVE INNOVATION
• Blending mythic fiction, ancestral memory, and mystical realism
• Reimagining Chinese mythology for a contemporary global audience
• Bridging literature, philosophy, spirituality, and cinematic storytelling
• Expanding the boundaries between myth, memoir, and historical reflection
• Integrating visual art and immersive audiobook narrative
• Building a cross-media literary universe spanning books, film, and documentary
STORY ANGLES
Why Chinese Heritage Matters Now
- China – U.S. Tensions Through Myth and Memory
- A Story of Peace in an Age of Global Fracture
- Why the Dragon Roars, A Phoenix’s Perspective
- A New Battleground in the East-West relationship through Mythic Literature
- An Ancestral Legacy confronting humanity’s drift towards Amnesia
- Reimagining the Chinese Fenghuang as a Symbol of Peace
WHY PHOENIXA MATTERS NOW?
- Peace is at Risk Without Understanding China
- Reclaiming Ancestral Memory in an Age of Cultural Amnesia
- One Woman’s Journey into Her Ancestral Past—and What It Reveals About Modern China
- Beyond Stereotypes: A Chinese Myth Reimagined for a Global Age of Peace
- Exploring the tension between power and peace through the Dragon and the Feng Huang
• A mythic literary response to an increasingly fractured and uncertain world
PHOENIXA: the nest
A Mystical Quest for the cheng legacy
Download the Official Book cover
Cinematic Audiobook Edition
Download Officical Poster 《問祖程脈》
Download Author Photo
1
Download Author Photo
2
J.J. Cheng on Myth, Memory and Peace
CHENG LEGACY
An Ancestral Quest for Modern China
CHENG ZHEN JUN(1888-1932)
《程振鈞傳》程一若著
BY J.J. CHENG
A 20-episode documentary series
and feature documentary
in post-production.
Tracing the life and legacy of Republican-era modernizer Cheng Zhen Jun (1888–1932), CHENG LEGACY follows author filmmaker J.J. Cheng’s ancestral journey across ten of China’s most historically vibrant cities — from Beijing to the mountains of Wuyuan, to West Lake in Hangzhou, to Anqing along the shores of the Yangtze River, and to Wuxi by the inlets of the ancient Grand Canal — on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a distinct auteur voice, Cheng’s reflective and meditative cinéma vérité narrative is at once urgent and revealing, casting light on a China at a civilizational crossroads — vibrant with modernity, yet suspended between remembrance and amnesia.
《問祖程脈》紀錄片系列
程一若作品
FOR MEDIA, CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS & COLLABORATORS
PHOENIXA and CHENG LEGACY are currently open for:
- Author talks & literary events
- Museum, university & cultural programming
- Media interviews & podcast appearances
- Cross-cultural dialogue forums
- Documentary partnerships & festival conversations
- International publishing, translation & adaptation opportunities
Journalists, scholars, programmers, and cultural organizations are invited to connect.