Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 盟器婢子, Maidservant of the Burial Objects
Category: Object
The Myth
Mengqi Bizi is a supernatural being from Chinese tradition said to arise when a mengqi, a wooden figurine of a female servant made for burial, becomes a spirit. These figures were used as funerary objects, representing maidservants intended to accompany the deceased in death.
The creature is mentioned in two Chinese literary sources: Pei Yan’s Chuanqi and Zhang’s account in the Beimeng Suoyan. However, the available descriptions provide little information about its appearance, behaviour, or supernatural abilities beyond its origin as an animated burial object.
The term Mengqi Bizi can also refer directly to a female servant figurine used in burial practices, rather than to the supernatural creature itself. The legend therefore connects the idea of objects acquiring spiritual life with the tradition of placing representations of servants in tombs.
Sources
“Mengqi Bizi” (盟器婢子). Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9B%9F%E5%99%A8%E5%A9%A2%E5%AD%90