The following is a list of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore and fiction originating from traditional folk culture and contemporary literature such as Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. This list contains only common supernatural beings who are inherently "evil" in nature, such as ghosts and demons, and beings who are lesser than deities. There are also ghosts with other characteristics. They are classified in some Chinese Buddhist texts.[1][2][3]
The Aoyin. is an ancient humanoid monster with a long tongue, sharp claws, and wearing tattered clothes. It likes to eat human brains. It is recorded in "Shenyi Jing: Southwest Desolate Classic" (神异经·西南荒经).
Ba jiao gui (Chinese:芭蕉鬼; pinyin:bā jiāo guǐ; lit.'banana ghost') is a female ghost that dwells in a banana tree and appears wailing under the tree at night, sometimes carrying a baby. In some folktales from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, greedy people ask for lottery numbers from the ghost in the hope of winning money. They tie a red string around the tree trunk, stick sharp needles into the tree, and tie the other end of the string to their beds. At night, the ghost appears and begs the person to set her free. In return, she will give them a set of winning numbers. If the person does not fulfil his/her promise to set the ghost free after winning, they will meet with a horrible death. This ghost is similar in some aspects to the Pontianak/Kuntilanak in Malay and Indonesian folklore.
The Daolaogui are said to generally found in damp and cold places in the deep mountains, and specifically often haunts the deep mountains of the Linchuan area of Jiangxi Province. There are both male and female Daolaogui: the male is dark green, while the female is purple, and male Daolaogui are more toxic than female ones. The Daolaogui often appears accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, possibly because they want to hide their voice, which sounds like a grown man roaring.
The Daolaogui has a frightening appearance, and can shoot a highly poisonous gas from its mouth. If the victim inhales or contacts the gas, they will be poisoned, swell up quickly, and die within a day. After dying, they will become a Daolaogui themselves if their corpse is not burned. However, the Daolaogui does not move very fast, so one may escape an Daolaogui encounter by holding their breath and running away quickly, and one may also survive partial poisonings by cutting off swollen areas within half a day.
Di fu ling (traditional Chinese:地縛靈; simplified Chinese:地缚灵; pinyin:dì fù líng; lit.'Earth-bound spirit') refers to ghosts who are bound to certain locations on Earth, such as their place of burial or a place they had a strong attachment to when they were alive.
Diao si gui (Chinese:吊死鬼; pinyin:diào sǐ guǐ; lit.'hanged ghost') are the ghosts of people who died from hanging due to various reasons (e.g. execution, suicide, accident). They are usually depicted with long red tongues sticking out of their mouths.[4]
E gui (traditional Chinese:餓鬼; simplified Chinese:饿鬼; pinyin:è guǐ; lit.'hungry ghost') refers to ghosts that appear during the Ghost Festival. They are the spirits of people who committed sins out of greed when they were alive, and have been condemned to suffer in hunger after death. The e gui is usually depicted as having green or grey skin, a mouth too small for ingesting food, and sometimes with a potbelly. The ghost suffers from insatiable hunger and roams the streets and kitchens in search of offerings and decomposed food. These hungry ghosts consume anything, including excreted waste and rotten flesh. There are various types: some have fire-breathing abilities while others suffer from anorexia.
Gui po (Chinese:鬼婆; pinyin:guǐ pó; lit.'old woman ghost') is a ghost that takes the form of a peaceful and friendly old woman. They may be the spirits of amahs who used to work as servants in rich families. They return to help their masters with housekeeping matters or take care of young children and babies. However, there are also evil gui pos with disgusting and violent appearances.
The Huapigui first appeared in the painted skin record of the famous novel "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" in the Qing Dynasty. It is a ferocious ghost who eats humans and wear their victim's skin. Its initial appearance is green due to its rotten form but it usually takes the form of a beautiful woman it killed. Huapigui means "Painted skin ghost".[5]
The jiangshi (traditional Chinese:殭屍; simplified Chinese:僵屍; pinyin:jiāngshī; Wade–Giles:chiang-shih; lit.'stiff corpse') is also known as the "Chinese vampire" even though it behaves more like a zombie rather than a vampire (in Western cultures). They are reanimated corpses that move by hopping around and they kill living beings to absorb their yang energy.
Nü gui (Chinese:女鬼; pinyin:nǚ guǐ; lit.'female ghost'), is a vengeful female ghost with long hair in a white dress. In folklore, this ghost is the spirit of a woman who committed suicide while wearing a red dress. Usually, she experienced some form of injustice when she was alive, such as being wronged or sexually abused. She returns to take her revenge. A tabloid story tells of a funeral ceremony where family members of a murder victim dress her in red, in the hope that her spirit will return to take revenge on her murderer. In traditional folklore, the colour red symbolizes anger and vengeance. On the other hand, some ancient folktales tell of beautiful female ghosts who seduce men and suck their yang essence or sometimes kill them. This type of female ghost is likened to the Succubus. Paradoxically, the male counterpart of a nü gui, a nan gui (Chinese:男鬼; pinyin:nán guǐ; lit.'male ghost'), is rarely mentioned.
Pipagui (琵琶鬼)
"Pipa ghost" is the Chinese transliteration of the Dai language "pibo", which is regarded as the most vicious kind of ghost in society. The Pipagui often gather in tropical where there the climate is humid, poisonous insects, snakes and ants were plenty, causing malaria to be widespread in the area. Historically, the gathering places of the Dai people were generally located in tropical rain forests, where the climate was humid, and the poisonous insects, snakes and ants were inundated, causing malaria to be widespread in the area, and medical conditions were limited at that time. The Dai villagers who believe in ghosts and gods think that this is the haunting of hungry ghosts – "Pipa ghost" comes from this.
"Pi" is a ghost, "Pa" is the name of a ghost, and "Pipa ghost" is a hungry ghost, which will be attached to people. This kind of ghost generally does not have a free body, and the free body is what we call a lonely ghost. "Pipa Ghosts" are generally provided by people, and the supporters cast spells to make "Pipa Ghosts" possessed by people who hate them. Once possessed by them, they will be seriously ill, be in a trance, or die in severe cases. To eliminate this symptom, you need to take tobacco, alcohol, tea, and meat, and sincerely admit your mistake to the caster. These people who can put "Pipa Ghosts" in the village are always frightened. Some young and bold villagers who are jealous of evil have heard that people who are possessed by "Pipa Ghosts" are generally weak in constitution. of. So after the village reached an agreement, these people were driven out of the village and their houses were burnt down, and those who were driven out gradually gathered to form new villages, which people called "ghost villages".
Shui gui (Chinese:水鬼; pinyin:shuǐ guǐ; lit.'water ghost') are the spirits of people who drowned. They lurk in the place where they died, drag unsuspecting victims underwater, and drown them to take possession of their bodies. This process is known as ti shen (Chinese:替身; pinyin:tì shēn; lit.'replace the body'), in which the spirit returns to life in the victim's body while the victim's spirit takes the shui gui's place and constantly seeks to take control of another living person's body.
Wutou gui (traditional Chinese:無頭鬼; simplified Chinese:无头鬼; pinyin:wútóu guǐ; lit.'headless ghost') are headless ghosts who roam about aimlessly. They are the spirits of people who were killed by decapitation due to various causes (e.g. execution, accident). In some tales, the wutou gui approaches people at night and asks them where his/her head is. The wutou gui is sometimes depicted as carrying his/her head on the side.
You hun ye gui
You hun ye gui (Chinese:游魂野鬼; pinyin:yóu hún yě guǐ; lit.'wandering souls and wild ghosts') refer to the wandering spirits of the dead. They roam the world of the living in the Seventh Lunar Month (typically August in the Gregorian calendar) during the Ghost Festival. These spirits include vengeful ghosts seeking revenge on those who offended them before, hungry ghosts (see the E gui section above), and playful spirits who might cause trouble during that period.
Some of these spirits have no living relatives or resting place, while others might lose their way and cannot return to the Underworld in time, so they continue to roam the world of the living after the Seventh Lunar Month. In Taiwan, there are shrines and temples set up for the worship of "You Ying Gong" (traditional Chinese:有應公; simplified Chinese:有应公; pinyin:Yǒu Yìng Gōng), a name which collectively refers to such "lost" spirits, in the hope that these spirits would not cause harm to the living.[8] There are classified by some scholars from various universities in Taiwan.[9][10][11][12][13] Some of these spirits may become deities known as "Wang Ye" (traditional Chinese:王爺; simplified Chinese:王爷; pinyin:Wáng yé; lit.'royal lord').
The Chinese idiomgu hun ye gui (Chinese:孤魂野鬼; pinyin:gū hún yě guǐ; lit.'lonely souls and wild ghosts'), which describes such spirits, is also used to refer to homeless people or those who wander around aimlessly.
Yuan gui
Yuan gui (Chinese:冤鬼; pinyin:yuān guǐ; lit.'ghost with grievance') are the spirits of persons who died wrongful deaths. Beliefs in such ghosts had surfaced in China from as early as the Zhou dynasty and were recorded in the historical text Zuo Zhuan.[14] These ghosts can neither rest in peace nor be reincarnated. They roam the world of the living as depressed and restless spirits who constantly seek to have their grievances redressed. In some tales, these ghosts approach living people and attempt to communicate with them in order to lead them to clues or pieces of evidence that point out that they died wrongful deaths. The living people then try to help them clear their names or otherwise ensure that justice is served.
Ying ling (traditional Chinese:嬰靈; simplified Chinese:婴灵; pinyin:yīng líng; lit.'infant spirit') refer to the spirits of dead fetuses. The idea of such spirits are purported to have originated in Japan.[15][16] Memorial services are held for them in Taiwan.[17][18] A writer identified as "Zuigongzi" (lit. "drunk gentleman") wrote an article on thinkerstar.com in 2004 to claim that the stories of ying ling were fabricated.
Zhi ren (traditional Chinese:紙人; simplified Chinese:纸人; pinyin:zhǐ rén; lit.'paper person') are dolls made from paper that are burnt as offerings to the dead to become the deceased's servants. These dolls usually come in pairs – one male and one female – and are sometimes called jin tong yu nü (Chinese:金童玉女; pinyin:jīn tóng yù nǚ; lit.'golden boy and jade girl'). These dolls are not exactly spirits by themselves, but they can do the bidding of their deceased masters.
Emperor Gaozu of Han, also known by his given name Liu Bang (劉邦), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one the greatest emperors in history, credited with establishing the Pax Sinica, one of China's longest golden ages.
Gweilo or gwailou is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use. Cantonese speakers frequently use gwailou to refer to Westerners in general use, in a non-derogatory context, although whether this type of usage is offensive is disputed by both Cantonese and Westerners.
Yaoguai is a Chinese term for monsters or strange creatures. Yaogui, yaomo or yaojing are loosely related terms.
Konjaku Hyakki Shūi is the third book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō tetralogy, published c. 1781. These books are supernatural bestiaries, collections of ghosts, spirits, spooks and monsters, many of which Toriyama based on literature, folklore, and other artwork. These works have had a profound influence on subsequent yōkai imagery in Japan. Konjaku Hyakki Shūi is preceded in the series by Gazu Hyakki Yagyō and Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki, and succeeded by Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro.
In Search of the Supernatural, is a 4th-century Chinese compilation of legends, short stories, and hearsay concerning Chinese gods, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena. Although the authorship of the book is not made explicit in the text, it is believed to have been written and compiled by Gan Bao, a historian at the court of Emperor Yuan of the Jin dynasty around AD350. It was reissued in numerous editions, including in 1593. The book usually consists of 464 stories.
Xiuyu District is a district of the city of Putian, Fujian, People's Republic of China. The district executive, legislature and judiciary are in Hushi Town (笏石镇), together with the CPC and PSB branches.
Chinese folklore features a rich variety of ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural creatures. According to traditional beliefs a ghost is the spirit form of a person who has died. Ghosts are typically malevolent and will cause harm to the living if provoked. Many Chinese folk beliefs about ghosts have been adopted into the mythologies and folklore of neighboring East Asian cultures, notably Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Beliefs about ghosts are closely associated with Chinese ancestor worship, where much have been incorporated into Buddhism and in turn influenced and created uniquely Chinese Buddhist beliefs about the supernatural.
The Table of Indexing Chinese Character Components is a lexicographic tool used to order the Chinese characters in mainland China. The specification is also known as GF 0011-2009.
Lin Peng is a Chinese actress. Peng began her career by appearing in a Jackie Chan film Little Big Soldier.
Chen Zihan is a Chinese actress. She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy.
The National Outstanding Children's Literature Award is a major literary award in China, established in 1986. It is run by the China Writers Association, and is awarded every three years in the categories of novels, picture books, poetry, essays and non-fiction.
Joseph Nan-Hong Kuo is a Taiwanese film director best known for his Hong Kong based kung fu films of the 1970s and 1980s.
Xiong Liang (熊亮) is a Chinese illustrator.
Shui Long Yin is a Chinese television series based on the serialized martial arts novel "Enduring a Thousand Tribulations" (千劫眉) by Teng Ping (藤萍), starring Luo Yunxi. The story centers around Tang Lici (唐俪辞), a highly skilled but introverted swordsman as he embarks on martial arts adventures.
Xiezijing, also known as Scorpion Demoness, is a major antagonist from the 16th-century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West and its media adaptations. Her true form is a giant scorpion as large as a pipa. In the narrative, the Scorpion Demoness stands out as the sole character capable of harming both the Buddha and Sun Wukong. Despite the Buddha and Wukong's bodies being as resilient as metal, they are unable to withstand the venomous sting of the Scorpion Demoness's tail.
References
↑ The novel Zhǎn guǐ chuán (斬鬼傳; 'Story of Slaying Demons'') by the Qing dynasty writer Liu Zhang (劉璋). See Chinese Wikisource.
↑ 徐祖祥 [Xu, Zuxiang] (25 December 2009). 论瑶族道教的教派及其特点[Discussion on the various sects of Taoism followed by the Yao people and the sects' characteristics] (in Simplified Chinese). 中国瑶族网 (China Yao People Website). Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 大正新脩大藏經 第二十一冊[Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 21] (in Traditional Chinese). 中華電子佛典協會 [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 子不語 第三卷[Zi Bu Yu. Vol. 3.] (in Chinese). Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 台灣民俗故事：「有應公」信仰的由來[Taiwanese folk stories: The origins of the worship of You Ying Gong] (in Traditional Chinese). 保西風情 [Baoxi Fengqing]. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ Hsu, Hsien-ping (許献平) (23 July 2007). 台南縣北門區有應公信仰研究[Research on the worship of You Ying Gong in Beimen District, Tainan County] (in Chinese). National Sun Yat-sen University. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ Yang, Shu-ling (楊淑玲) (12 July 2006). 台南地區姑娘媽信仰與傳說之研究[The research of Gu Niang, Ma belief and fables in Tainan area] (in Traditional Chinese). National Cheng Kung University. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ Wu, Yixuan (吳依萱) (1 December 2009). 孤魂與鬼雄的世界：北臺灣的厲鬼信仰[The world of wandering spirits and ghosts: Beliefs of ghosts in northern Taiwan] (in Traditional Chinese). 98th Edition, E-Paper, College of Hakka Studies, National Central University. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 台灣的厲鬼信仰 — 姑娘廟與冥婚[Beliefs of ghosts in Taiwan – Gu Niang Temple and Ghost Wedding]. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ Kong, Zhiming (孔志明) (1998). 左傳中的厲鬼問題及其日後之演變[The ideas of vengeful spirits in the Zuo Zhuan and later developments] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ Li, Yuzhen (李玉珍) (March 1995). 評William R. LaFleur, Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan[Commentary on William R. LaFleur, Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan]. 新史學 第六卷第一期 [New History Studies. Volume 6, 1st Edition] (in Chinese). Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University. pp.225–229. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 令嫻, 陳. (March 2006). 台湾社会における「嬰霊」と「小鬼」信仰. 時の扉: 東京学芸大学大学院伝承文学研究レポート (in Japanese). 18: 23–27. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
↑ 宗教と倫理 第３号[Religion and Ethics. Volume 3](PDF) (in Japanese). 宗教倫理学会 [Japan Association of Religion and Ethics]. December 2003. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
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