yaoguai
Sign in to saveAlso known as yaojing, yaogui, yaomo
thumb|240px|Creatures depicted in Luo Ping's Gui Qu Tu (; )
~32 min read
Encyclopedic overview
35 sectionsContents
- Distinction between yaoguai and other supernatural beings in Chinese folklore
- Attributes, powers and origins
- General attributes
- Typical powers
- Origin
- Disturbances to the moral and cosmic order
- Born from anomalous or aberrant qi or energy
- Absorptions of cosmic energy over a long time
- Deliberate cultivation
- Classical types and examples
- Taoist folklore
- Typology
- Shapeshifters causing supernatural afflictions
- Predatory beings
- Creatures with spiritual cultivation
- Demoted gods
- Literature
- Shenmo (lit. "gods and demons") genre of literature or mythic literature
- Zhiguai (lit. "strange tales") genre of literature
- Hu Hao Hao (lit. "what the fox loves to indulge in")
- Etymology and disambiguation
- Etymology
- Classical usages
- Later usages
- Disambiguation
- Psychological underpinnings
- Comparison to Japanese yokai
- Comparison to Western demons
- In popular culture
- Modern adaptations in Chinese cinema and culture
- Western adaptations
- See also
- Broader entries
- Creature-specific entries
- References
thumb|240px|Creatures depicted in Luo Ping's Gui Qu Tu (; )
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “yaoguai” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.