Chinese Demon Mythology

King Jinjiao and King Yinjiao

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternative names: Golden-Horned King, Silver-Horned King
Category: Cave dweller, Demon

The Myth

King Jinjiao and King Yinjiao are two powerful demon brothers who rule the Lotus Cave on Pingdingshan. They appear as formidable demon kings and possess a collection of magical weapons and treasures, including the Seven Star Sword, a gourd capable of absorbing and dissolving people, a jade bottle, a golden rope, and a banana-leaf fan that can produce the Samadhi Fire.

The two brothers were originally servants of Laozi and were responsible for guarding his alchemy furnace. They eventually stole several of his magical treasures and fled to the mortal world, where they established themselves as demon kings in the Lotus Cave.

When Tang Sanzang and his companions passed through the region, the two demon kings attacked them. They first defeated Sun Wukong and trapped him beneath three mountains before capturing Tang Sanzang.

The brothers later attempted to destroy Sun Wukong by using their magical gourd. They managed to suck him inside, intending for its supernatural power to dissolve him. Sun Wukong, however, escaped from the gourd before it could destroy him.

After escaping, Sun Wukong turned the magical weapon against its owners. He used the gourd to absorb both King Jinjiao and King Yinjiao, defeating the two demon kings with the very treasure they had used against him.

Sources

“金角大王和银角大王 (King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/金角大王和银角大王

Mouryō

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Hōryō, Hōliang, Hōxiang, Hongliang, Mizuha
Category: Mountain dweller, Zombie, Demon

The Myth

In the deep places of the world—where mountains rise thick with trees and rivers slip silently through stone—there dwell beings known as the mouryō. They are not born as humans are, but arise from the spirit of the land itself: from forests, streams, roots, and shadows beneath the earth.

Ancient texts say that the mouryō appear like small children, no taller than three-year-olds, yet their forms are unsettling. Their skin is dark and reddish, their eyes glow red, their ears are long, and their hair is strangely beautiful. Though they resemble children, they are not innocent. They linger near graves, riverbanks, and old pine trees, places where the boundary between life and death is thin.

At night, the mouryō creep from the roots of trees or from wet earth. They dig into burial grounds and feast upon the livers of corpses, sustaining themselves on the remains of the dead. Because of this, people once feared them greatly, believing that graves left unguarded would invite these beings. Some said that when a corpse vanished, carried away in the night, it was not the work of hellfire or demons from below, but the mouryō dragging the body back into the forest.

In later tales, the mouryō became confused with other corpse-stealing monsters. Some claimed they were the same as the fiery kasha, while others insisted they were water spirits, haunting rivers and marshes. Still others said they were kin to the kappa, born of stagnant waters and rot. No matter the explanation, the fear remained the same: the mouryō were creatures that thrived where decay met neglect.

Travelers avoided old trees at night, and families guarded their dead, for it was said that once a mouryō had tasted a corpse, it would return again and again. Silent, patient, and hungry, the mouryō endured as a reminder that the land itself remembers death—and that some spirits feed upon what humans leave behind.

Gallery

Sources

TYZ-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). 魍魎 (Mouryō). In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1072334859.html

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