List of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore

The Aoyin () is a man-eating humanoid monster of the desolate Western regions, described as having a very long tongue, sharp claws, and wearing tattered clothes. This anthropophagous being has a taste for human brains. It may be slain by smashing a rock on its tongue. It is also known as the Mowei (). It is recorded in the Classic of Gods and Aberrations, in the chapter on creatures of the Southwestern Wastelands (). == Ba jiao gui () ==

Ba jiao gui () 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. == Baigujing () ==

Also known as Lady White Bone. A cunning, shapeshifting being that developed from the exposed skeleton of a maiden that had absorbed the energy of the sun and moon. In the novel the Journey to the West, she desires to consume the flesh of the travelling monk Tang San Zang in order to obtain immortality and assumes various guises in order to do so. == Banyan Tree Spirits () ==

From the perspective of feng shui, Banyan trees easily absorb yin energy, and thus readily shelter abominable spirits. These trees are ubiquitous in southern China. == Black Wind Calamity () ==

A kind of demonic entity manifesting as a black fog or creatures within a black fog, leaving behind grievous and sometimes fatal injuries among the population wherever they went. The beings within the fog are variously dog-like or serpentine. Whenever these black winds struck, the emperor made petitions to heaven, issued decrees of repentance, and granted general pardons. Creatures emerging from the black vapors are of diverse form. In Shunde and Hejian in Zhili, the area directly administered by the Emperor around Beijing, they appeared as creatures in between dogs and cats. In Hengyang, they appeared as nightmarish spectres that afflicted only women, so that blood streamed out of their mouths with fatal consequences. In Hangzhou, the black fog was followed by "serpentine beings, rolling in cartwheels, with eyes like lightning, and followed by frost and hail". In Shandong, one in the shape of a hairy black barrel came down from a willow tree and disappeared. == Chimei () ==

are wilderness demons. Sometimes regarded as demons of the mountains and forests that are born of aberrant or turbid qi or energy. The character "" suggests the supernatural power of enchantment or allurement. Often contrasted with , who are demons of the marshes and rivers. The term means all kinds of demons, goblins and ghouls and is used as a metaphor for bad people in general. One source describes a disease-causing mei assuming the form of a snake when killed. Likely related to the one-horned dragon, or , or a homonymous creature the , which is a beast with a human head that likes to bewilder people. == Dame Drowned Old-Lady () ==

A specter in the oral traditions of Xiamen (Amoy) in Fujian province. A cloudy mass that suddenly appears to capsize and drown boats. The phenomenon is attributed to the spirit of a woman who, unable to bear her husband's abuse, committed suicide. This vengeful ghost seeks to drag her husband, a fisherman, down with her. Mock paper money is often burned to appease her whenever she appears. == Daolaogui () ==

Documented in Chapter 12 of the text known as the Shoushenji () written by Gan Bao (). The Daolaogui () are said to generally found in damp and cold places in deep mountains of the Linchuan area of Jiangxi Province. The Daolaogui has a frightening appearance and can shoot a highly poisonous gas or dart from its mouth. 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. 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. If the victim is poisoned by the dart, they will swell up quickly, and die within a day. After dying, they will become a Daolaogui themselves unless their corpse is burned. However, the Daolaogui does not move very fast, so one may escape a Daolaogui encounter by holding one's breath and running away quickly. One may also survive partial poisonings by cutting off swollen areas within half a day. == Di fu ling () ==

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. They are highly circumscribed in their activities, unable to leave the area to which they are bound. == Diao si gui () ==

De Groot observes that "self-destruction in China is perpetrated usually by means of a rope", and the victims are usually said to become fearsome ghosts or "hanging-spectres". 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. They are also known as Diao gui (). They are known to be capable of seducing others to suicide, or outright hanging others. == Dog demons () ==

Dog demons do not appear in Chinese folklore as "bloodthirsty demons", but rather "wickedly assume human shape, with the purpose of gratifying their lusts on modest maids and wives", as per De Groot. == E gui () ==

refers to ghosts driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. 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. Some have fire-breathing abilities while others suffer from anorexia. These appear during the Hungry Ghost Festival, observed by the Chinese diaspora in SE Asia and even in Japan, and when people avoid travelling during the night in order to avoid encountering something "unclean". == Fang Liang () ==

The Fang Liang () are demonic, necrophagic creatures that break into tombs to consume the brains of the dead and which can be killed by twigs of the Arborvitae. == Fen Yang () ==

Literal meaning: "grave goat". A demon of the soil or the earth with a sheep-like aspect. A subterranean goat-like demon mentioned in the Guoyu (Discourses of the States) by Confucious. A sheep-like being of the earth, sometimes said to be born in wells. Usually regarded as necrophagous, invading tombs to eat corpses. De Groot claims that they were invoked to explain the process of decomposition, which could not be understood at the time. Sometimes regarded as a demon with an undeveloped sexuality, and responsible for haunting houses and ruins, as well as afflicting children with epilepsy and inducing miscarriage. "When water gives birth to water bugs or clams, or mountains give birth to gold and jade, people do not find it strange. But when mountains give birth to Xiaoyang (), water gives birth to Wangxiang (), wood gives birth to Bifang (), and wells give birth to Fenyang (), people find it strange." == Gui po () ==

A relatively modern belief, likely influenced by the "onibaba" of Japan, especially through the 1964 movie of the same name. The 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. == Hanba () ==

A drought-causing demon. De Groot observes that droughts have always vexed China and were often attributed to demons. The Shi Jing states that there are beings two to three feet in height, with eyes on top of their head, and that move as fast as the wind. == Heibai Wuchang () ==

Literally: "Black and White Impermanence". Two beings charged with escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld, thus, playing the role of psychopomps in Taoist belief. Prominent in the folkloric beliefs of the people of Fujian and in the superstitions of the Chinese diaspora in SE Asia. In many accounts, the two, in their mortal lives, were a pair of yamen guards - Xie Bi'an () and Fan Wujiu (范). One of whom drowned and the other committed suicide. Their friendship impressed the Jade Emperor, who made them deities. Xie Bi'An (), the White Impermanence () The White Guard, 谢必安, is commonly portrayed as a fair complexioned man dressed in a white robe and wearing a tall hat bearing the Chinese words "Become Rich Upon Encountering Me" (), "Become Lucky Upon Encountering Me" (), or "You Have Come Too" (). He holds a hand fan in one hand and a fish-shaped shackle or wooden sign in the other hand. He is usually depicted as the taller of the duo. Fan Wujiu (), the Black Impermanence () The Black Guard, , is typically represented as a dark-complexioned man in a black robe and wearing a hat similar to the one worn by the White Guard. The Chinese words on his hat are "Peace to the World" () or "Arresting You Right Now" (). He holds a hand fan in one hand and a squarish wooden sign in the other hand. The sign bears the words "Making a Clear Distinction Between Good and Evil" () or "Rewarding the Good and Punishing the Evil" (). A long chain is wrapped around one of his arms. In popular culture, they often feature in Wuxia movies as disguises adopted by villains, and also feature as tropes in comic books. == Huapigui () ==

A man-eating demon that wears human skin to disguise its hideous countenance. 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". == Hulijing () ==

A fox capable, through spiritual cultivation, of assuming human form, and of employing sorcery to poison, to bewilder, and to enthrall. Described as clairvoyant and capable of possessing humans. Said to be capable of transcending yin and yang. Often associated with sexual desire. It is capable of ascending to heaven and becoming a celestial fox after immense age. The popular imagination may have been fueled in part by the underground presence of suppressed or outlawed fox spirit cults and other heterodox forms of spirituality in the Song dynasty. These cults often held services in the secret backrooms of officially sanctioned temples. De Groot describes them in the Chinese imagination as "the cause of insanity, disease and even death", "entering into men to change them into raving lunatics", a cause of matricide, uxoricide and even patricide, usually from a spirit of "unprovoked malignity". They are sufficiently cunning to sometimes adopt the guise of Buddhist saints. In their more humorous moods, they engage in minor tricks such as cutting off the hair of people. == Hundun () ==

A kind of river god of the Central Plains, also one of the four fiends of ancient China. Described as looking like a yellow sack without eyes or a face, and with six legs and four wings. Represents chaos, muddle-headedness and ignorance. There is a linguistic connection between Hùndùn and húntun (wonton), and both share an amorphous sack-like appearance. == Jian () ==