Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 山膏, Mountain Paste, Shan Gao
Category: Pig
The Myth
Shanjiao, also known as Shan Gao, is a strange beast described in the ancient Chinese text Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing). According to the Classic of the Central Mountains, it inhabits Ku Mountain, approximately twenty miles to the east. The creature resembles an ordinary piglet, but its body is as red as a blazing fire. Its most distinctive characteristic is its fondness for cursing and insulting others.
Shanjiao is remembered less for physical strength or supernatural powers than for its foul mouth. Its reputation as a creature that excels at scolding became a literary reference for people who are particularly skilled at verbally attacking others. The creature’s name and description were later invoked in Chinese literary and political commentary, including a poem by Zhang Binglin inscribed on a fan for Liu Yazi, which referred to factions that were especially fond of insulting their opponents.
Through these references, Shanjiao became associated with quarrelsome behaviour and abusive speech. Despite its small, piglet-like appearance, its fiery red body and relentless tendency to curse make it a distinctive creature among the unusual animals recorded in Chinese mythology.
Sources
“Shan Gao” (山膏). Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E8%86%8F?