Yaoguai () represent a broad and diverse class of ambiguous creatures in Chinese folklore and mythology defined by the possession of supernatural powers and by having attributes that partake of the quality of the weird, the strange or the unnatural. They are especially associated with transformation and enchantment. They often dwell in remote areas or on the fringes of civilization where they produce all manner of unexplainable phenomena and mischief. They often have predatory or malevolent tendencies.
Yaoguai vary considerably from one another in appearance and powers, and depending on the particular individual or type, as being capable of shapeshifting, creating illusions, hypnosis, controlling minds, causing disease, clairvoyance, and draining the life force of mortals.
While yaoguai are not evil in the sense Western demons are, they are usually weird and dangerous, tending to exert a baleful influence on mankind. In more superstitious times, confusion and bewilderment, strange and unexplainable disease, eerie sights and strange sounds, and cases of unexplained murders and missing persons were attributed to them, hence the folk saying "extraordinary occurrences are due to the yao [guai]" ().
Yaoguai are popular staples of modern Chinese fiction, appearing in books, movies and comics. They have also begun to appear in video games.
Distinction between yaoguai and other supernatural beings in Chinese folklore
Gui, Guai, Yao, Mo and Xie
Chinese texts and beliefs abound with descriptions of the strange and supernatural, and do not always use consistent terminology. The word itself carries strong connotations of supernatural power, usually of the kind that runs contrary to the prescribed order of nature or heaven, and yaoshu () means sorcery.
In Chinese texts, specific are sometimes referred to as , , or . Despite the overlapping connotations and senses and their somewhat interchangeable use, these words have different core meanings and commonly refer to creatures that are not . The narrow sense of each word refers to different kinds of beings that can be distinguished, usually as follows:
Gui () more properly refers to the spirits of the dead, although it can also refer to specters and daemons such as the yao () generally. Guai () means any strange event, object (animate or inanimate) or person ("") while guaiwu () means "strange thing" (""). Monsters without supernatural powers, hence not yao (), may be also referred to as guai () or guaiwu (). Mo () means demon in the religious sense - i.e. the sense that resembles devils and demons in the Western tradition. It also refers to fallen deities, immortals and even yao () who have become extremely wicked. Xie () carries the connotation of spiritual deviance, heterodoxy, or moral corruption and can even be used to refer to specific deities, as in xieshen (), or corrupting devils (). Sometimes, used to described the yao () in limited contexts. The phrase means all varieties of supernatural and strange beings but can be used as a metaphor to refer to all kinds of bad people.
Attributes, powers and origins General attributes
A is an eldritch and potentially predatory creature with uncanny properties, possessing supernatural powers such as shapeshifting. Dwelling in remote wildernesses or at the fringes of civilization, and occasionally intruding into human civilization. It tends towards malevolence and generally has a harmful influence on humankind. They can be of either gender, but femme fatales are prominent in the literature. In folklore, their characteristic attributes are strangeness or otherworldliness, seductiveness, and an association with erratic behavior, bewilderment, and with disaster or misfortune. Whatever could not be readily understood by the population and that frightened them was generally regarded as .
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If [while one is] in the midst of the mountain valleys, yaoguai [are found] acting, [then] this is not auspicious.
In their capricious tendencies and powers, they have some resemblance to the fae of Irish legend or the fairies of European lore. However, unlike the fae, the often possess the nature of a specific kind of animal or a plant (a vixen, a snake, a butterfly, or a tree or a flower), which may have been their original form. They are capable of assuming human, or near-human form, and of wielding either innate supernatural powers or abilities associated with Taoist cultivation.
The existence of these creatures or phenomena associated with them is generally an ill-omen and is described arising due to natural fluctuations in yin and yang, or to human activity which disrupts the moral or normative order.
Typical powers
Possession of supernatural power defines the yaoguai, distinguishing them from other monsters. Descriptions of the abilities of these beings vary considerably. Typical powers ascribed to them include shapeshifting, the manufacture of illusions, mind control, clairvoyance, the possession of human beings, and the control over natural forces.
For example, nine-tailed foxes are said to be clairvoyant beings able to poison others through sorcery and to take possession of others. In Yue Jun's tale "Hu Hao Hao", a fox spirit compels, through sorcery, a respectable couple to engage in a sexual threesome with it. Baigujing, a white skeleton essence, is described as an adept shapeshifter, taking on the forms of multiple people in an attempt to deceive her opponents. Others are capable of control over elemental forces, as when Bai Suzhen, a white snake fairy unleashes a supernatural flood against a temple.
Origin
Older references to the regard them as strange phenomena arising due to aberrations or anomalies in qi (the breath, energy or material force) pervading the natural world, or else from the passive absorption of universal energies of yin and yang over a long period of time. They may also have developed into their current state from engaging in the deliberate cultivation of supernatural power. Finally, they may also result due to disturbances to the moral and cosmic order.
Disturbances to the moral and cosmic order According to the classic text Zuo Zhuan, . In traditional Chinese thought, natural phenomena and human wellbeing and flourishing are correlated to moral conduct. The operative principle can be moral or natural - either Heavenly retribution or the philosophical concept of gan-ying or stimulus-response (also known as "sympathetic resonance"). The latter is a broad connective principle according to which "like-begets-like", as when kindness begets kindness, thorns grow where armies are located, and where the musical analogy of resonating strings is often used.
Black Calamity, a kind of injurious wind and vapor demon or group of such demons whose presence indicated the displeasure of Heaven, a disturbance to the moral and social order, and the need for repentance.
Born from anomalous or aberrant qi or energy Some yaoguai arise spontaneously in nature due to anomalous or aberrant qi or energy. Examples include: Chimei (), a type of malevolent wilderness demon of the mountains and forests, are said to be born from aberrant qi (breath or energy) () Wangliang ), wilderness demons associated with rocks and trees () Wangxiang () are wilderness demons that are born of water ()
Absorptions of cosmic energy over a long time In Wang Chong's 1st century text the Balanced Discussions, things such as animals, plants, and rocks are said to be endowed a human-like essence and capacities as a result of immense age ().
The Penghou tree demon, associated with the element wood and with camphor trees, is said to be formed over the course of long years in remote mountain forests, developing into a human-headed dog with no tail. Lady White Bone or Baigujing was once the exposed skeleton of a maiden who, having absorbed the energies of the sun and moon over a long time, transformed into a shape-shifting daemon.
Deliberate cultivation Sources:
Bai Suzhen was a serpent who through the cultivation of magical power, attained to human form. Huli Jing are said to acquire their powers through both deliberate practice and immense age. Daji was a thousand-year-old fox spirit.
Classical types and examples
Yaoguai are often the antagonists in both the genre and the genres of literature.
In more superstitious times, they were also frequently believed to the culprits of strange occurrences and mysterious accidents, unexplained deaths and other ghastly phenomena.
Classical types in Chinese mythology, literature, and folklore include:
Black Calamity (): A roving black fog or vapor that inflicts injuries to persons and damage to property wherever it goes. A dog-like or serpentine being, or multiple such beings, can also be seen within the vapor. This demon or group of demons cannot be thwarted through normal weapons and ordinary means. Its presence indicates heaven's displeasure and necessitates the need for repentance on the part of the emperor and the governing bureaucracy. Fox Demons (): A recurring being in Chinese folk belief and literature. Said to be able to assume human form, and to have the supernatural ability to poison and inflict disease, to know things at a distance, to bewilder, and to derange. It is also able to take possession of human beings. In literature, it appears in Yue Jun's Hu Hao Hao, where it compels a couple to engage in a forbidden sex act, and as Daji in Fengshen Yanyi, where it leads the Shang king astray. The idea of a fox spirit appears to have been drawn in part from the activities of proscribed fox-spirit cults. Tiger Demons (): A recurring being in Chinese zhiguai () genre of literature, and also often blamed for actual missing persons cases in ancient China. Men were sometimes accused of being ravening tigers in human form and killed either by lynch mobs or being delivered up to magistrates to be put to death with state sanction. Sometimes these men had themselves confessed, likely under torture, to consuming other human beings. Wolf Demons (): Occurs sporadically in tales, but less frequently than fox spirits and tiger demons. Some Chinese writers supposed that the ancient Huns, Turks and Mongols were capable of transforming into wolves at leisure. A tale relates the discovery Wang Han from Taiyuan, whose father was Han Chinese and mother was a Hunnish woman adept at hunting. As his mother aged, she became unable to maintain her human form and eventually was discovered to be a wolf, escaping into the wilderness. Other tales relate of werewolves during a famine in the Ming dynasty. Snake Demons (): Appears as an instrument of divine punishment but sometimes persecutes even the worthy. Occasionally appears as a seducer, shapeshifting into human form to gratify its lusts. Also said to be able to cause diseases, manifesting as horrific skin sores, through supernatural power. Penghou (): A murderous tree demon that develops over the course of long years, taking the form of a tailless dog with a human head. It can be found in deep mountain forests and will attempt to kill passing travelers. It is associated with the essence of the wood element and with camphor trees. Additionally, it can be killed, boiled and eaten. Chimei (): a kind of wilderness demon born of aberrant qi or strange energy in mountains and forests. It is malevolent and harmful to humans. Etymology suggests the ability to seduce or enthrall. Wangliang (): a kind of wilderness demon associated with rivers and marshes, or else with apparitions between rocks and trees, or else a brain-eating sprite, and alternatively a plague-causing being, sometimes appearing in the form of a three-year old child with long hair. It can waylay and kill unwary travelers.
Specific characters from literature and folklore include: