Chinese Mythology

Junren

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: People of Small Stature
Category: Gnome

The Myth

Beyond the familiar lands of humankind, in the far and unnamed regions of the world, there live the Junren, a race of people small in body yet fully human in form. They dwell in distant wildernesses where mountains, forests, and seas stretch beyond the reach of ordinary travelers.

The Junren are said to live together as their own people, forming small kingdoms hidden at the edges of the world. Though diminutive in size, they walk upright, speak, labor, and order their lives as humans do. Their lands mirror the greater world, only scaled down—fields, dwellings, and communities shaped to their stature.

They are rarely seen, not because they are spirits or illusions, but because their homes lie far from known roads. Those who glimpse them often do so only briefly, mistaking them at first for children, birds, or moving shadows among grass and stone. By the time the eye adjusts, the Junren have already withdrawn.

In the old telling, the Junren serve as a reminder that the world is vast and layered, filled with peoples unseen by most. Humanity is not alone in shaping civilization; even in the remotest wilderness, lives unfold according to their own customs and rhythms.

Thus the Junren endure in story as the small people of the far lands, quiet proof that the earth holds more nations than those whose names are commonly known.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 茜人. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8F%8C%E4%BA%BA

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Red Willow Children

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternate Names: Red Willow Boys, Tamarisk Children
Category: Gnome

The Myth

In the deep mountains near Urumqi, herders tell of tiny people who appear when the red willows bloom. They are no taller than a foot or two and resemble miniature men, women, and children. When spring comes and the willow branches redden, these beings break off the twigs, bend them into small hoops, and wear them as crowns upon their heads.

They gather in groups and dance among the valleys, moving in circles and making soft, musical sounds, like a distant song carried by the wind. Their dancing is joyful but fleeting, and they vanish as suddenly as they appear.

At times, the Red Willow Children creep into camps or tents to steal food. When caught, they do not resist. Instead, they fall to their knees and weep like frightened children. If tied or imprisoned, they refuse all food and soon die. If released, they move away timidly at first, walking only a short distance before turning back to look. If shouted at or chased, they kneel again and cry. Only when they are far enough away to know they are safe do they finally flee, crossing streams and mountains and disappearing into the wilderness.

No one has ever found their nests or homes. They seem to belong neither fully to the forest nor to the mountains, and their true nature is uncertain. Some say they are neither spirits nor beasts, but something in between.

One tale tells of a local magistrate who once captured a Red Willow Child and brought it away for closer inspection. Its hair, eyebrows, and beard were said to be indistinguishable from those of a human. This discovery led some to believe that the ancient stories of little people hidden in the wild places of the world might be true after all.

Thus the Red Willow Children remain beings of song and sorrow—small, elusive figures who dance beneath blooming willows and vanish before they can ever be fully understood.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 红柳娥. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BA%A2%E6%9F%B3%E5%A8%83

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Ear Gnome

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Man in the Ear
Category: Gnome

The Myth

There was once a man named Tan Jinxuan who devoted himself to inner cultivation. He practiced breathing and stillness, enduring heat and cold alike, believing that persistence would bring insight. For many months nothing happened—until one day, as he sat quietly, he heard a faint whisper inside his ear, as soft as the buzzing of a fly.

The voice said, “You can see me.”

When Tan opened his eyes, the sound vanished. When he closed them and calmed his mind, the whisper returned. Each time he sat in meditation, the tiny voice spoke again, and Tan grew convinced that something truly lived within his ear.

One day, when the voice spoke once more, Tan answered it. At that moment, a tiny being leapt out from his ear and fell spinning onto the ground. It was no more than three inches tall, shaped like a small man with a fierce face like a yaksha, savage and sharp-eyed despite its size.

Tan stared in astonishment as the little creature whirled about, real and solid, no longer hidden. Before he could grasp it or speak further, it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving Tan alone with the certainty that unseen beings dwell closer to humans than anyone suspects.

Thus it was said that some spirits live not in forests or mountains, but within the body itself—heard only in silence, seen only by those who dare to listen.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 耳中人. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%80%B3%E4%B8%AD%E4%BA%BA

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Bull Demon King

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Niú Mówáng
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Bull Demon King was one of the greatest demon lords of the age, feared across mountains and valleys for his immense strength and terrifying presence. He ruled from his cavern on Thunder-Accumulating Mountain, commanding legions of lesser demons and living as a sovereign in his own right. He was the husband of Princess Iron Fan and the father of Red Boy, a fearsome child-demon whose power rivaled that of seasoned warriors.

In the days before Sun Wukong’s rebellion against Heaven, the Bull Demon King stood among a brotherhood of seven mighty demon kings. Together they swore oaths of loyalty, each proclaiming himself a ruler equal to Heaven. Among them, the Bull Demon King was the eldest and most respected, a figure of authority even the Monkey King acknowledged.

Later, when Tang Sanzang and his disciples journeyed westward, they came upon the Flaming Mountains, where fire burned endlessly and blocked their path. To extinguish the flames, Sun Wukong sought the Banana Leaf Fan, a powerful artifact owned by Princess Iron Fan. Trickery and persuasion failed, and the conflict drew out the Bull Demon King himself.

When he entered battle, the Bull Demon King revealed his true form: a colossal white bull, towering hundreds of feet tall, shaking the land with each step. He fought Sun Wukong with overwhelming force, wielding weapons and magic alike. Like the Monkey King, he could change his shape, using disguise and deception to outwit his enemies, even taking on the form of others to reclaim what was taken from him.

The struggle between the two shook mountains and skies, but even the Bull Demon King’s strength was not limitless. At last, the heavens intervened. Celestial generals descended, surrounding him and breaking his resistance. Bound and subdued, the Bull Demon King was taken away to face judgment under higher divine authority.

Thus ended the reign of one of the greatest demon sovereigns of the age—a being of immense power and pride, whose clash with Sun Wukong became one of the most fearsome and unforgettable trials on the journey to the West.

Gallery

Sources

Cheng’en, W. (1987). Journey to the West.
Wikipedia contributors. (2025a, August 14). Bull Demon King. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Demon_King#cite_ref-1

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Aoyin

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow, Mountain dweller

The Myth

Far to the west, beyond the reach of familiar roads, rises Three-Dangers Mountain, a place long feared by travelers. The mountain spans a hundred li around, and its three peaks are known to shelter beings both strange and deadly.

There lives a monster called Aoyin.

Its body is shaped like that of an ox, yet its hide is white as bone. Four horns rise from its head, and its body is covered in long, coarse hair like straw woven into rain capes. Though it bears the form of cattle, Aoyin is no gentle beast. It feeds on human flesh, preying on those who cross the mountain or linger too long beneath its peaks.

Three Green Birds are also said to dwell upon Three-Dangers Mountain. In later times they would be known as divine messengers, but here they share the heights with the man-eating Aoyin, marking the mountain as a place where sacred forces and mortal peril exist side by side.

Some say that Three-Dangers Mountain was also a land of exile. After rebelling against the ancient ruler Shun, the Three-Sprouts People were driven there and cast out to the edge of the world. Surrounded by barren land and deadly creatures, they disappeared from history.

Thus Aoyin became the living terror of Three-Dangers Mountain—a white, four-horned ox-beast that devours humans, standing as a warning that not all creatures shaped like cattle are meant to sustain life.

Gallery

Sources

Strassberg, R. E. (2002). A Chinese bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. Univ of California Press, p. 112.

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Kun

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Peng; Dapeng; Pengniao; Kunpeng
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the Northern Sea there lives a fish called Kun. It is so vast that no one knows how many thousands of miles it spans. Its body fills the deep, and when it moves, the waters of the sea are set in motion.

When the time comes, Kun rises from the depths and transforms.

Its scales become feathers, and it becomes the great bird Peng. The Peng’s back is immeasurable, and when it spreads its wings they hang across the sky like drifting clouds. With a single beat of those wings, storms are born and the sea churns below.

When the oceans surge, the Peng takes flight, leaving the Northern Sea behind and journeying toward the Southern Sea, the Heavenly Pool. As it ascends, the small birds of the world laugh and mock it, unable to comprehend a being whose path stretches beyond the horizon. Yet the Peng does not answer them. It rises higher and higher, until earth and sky fall away beneath it.

Thus Kun and Peng are one being—fish and bird, depth and height—moving freely between sea and sky, embodying boundless transformation and the vastness of the world itself.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 鯉魚. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AF%A4%E9%B5%AC

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Xuanyu

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Black Fish
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the ancient age of floods, Emperor Yao commanded Gun to bring the raging waters under control. For nine years Gun struggled, yet the rivers would not yield. At last, overcome by failure, he went to Yuyuan and drowned himself.

Death did not end him.

From the depths rose a vast black fish, its body dark as night. This was Xuanyu. It moved freely through river and wave, sometimes lifting its whiskers and shaking its scales so that the surface of the water rippled and stirred. When it glided across the waves, those who saw it said a river spirit had appeared.

At certain seasons, black fish and dragons were seen leaping from the water together, and people watched in fear and wonder. Some say Xuanyu later appeared where river meets sea, so immense that its presence shook the waters, causing them to surge and spray high into the air.

Thus Gun endured not as a man, but as Xuanyu—a dark spirit of the waters, carrying sorrow, power, and the memory of the floods wherever it swam.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 璋魚. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%84%E9%B1%BC

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Wenyao Fish

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the far western lands, at Mount Taiqi where the Guan River is born, there lives a strange fish known as the Wenyao. The river flows westward into the drifting sands, and within these waters the Wenyao make their home.

The Wenyao resembles a carp in shape, yet from its body grow wings like those of a bird. Blue-green patterns flow across its scales, its head is white as bone, and its mouth is red like fresh lacquer. By day it swims through rivers and seas; by night it takes to the air, flying between the Western Sea and the Eastern Sea.

When the Wenyao cries out, its voice is like that of a phoenix calling across the sky. Its flesh is sour and sweet to the taste, and those who eat it are cured of madness and falling sickness. It restores vital energy and replenishes the blood.

When Wenyao appear in abundance, it is taken as a sign that the year will be fruitful and the harvest great.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 文魯魚. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%87%E9%B3%90%E9%B1%BC

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Renyu

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Alternative names: –
Category: Fish, Mermaid

The Myth

In ancient times, strange beings known as renyu, or human-fish, were said to live in rivers, seas, and distant waters across the world. These creatures were neither fully human nor fully fish, but something in between. They appeared in many regions, especially in remote mountains and waterways where ordinary people rarely traveled.

Some renyu were described as fish with human features, while others had four legs and moved like animals on land. Their voices were said to sound like crying infants, a sound that echoed eerily across rivers and valleys. Though strange and unsettling, renyu were not always hostile. In certain places, eating the flesh of a renyu was believed to cure illnesses of the mind, restoring clarity and reason to those afflicted.

One well-known renyu lived in the Bursting River near Dragon-Marquis Mountain. This creature resembled a large fish, yet possessed limbs and a human-like voice. It lingered in deep waters, surfacing only rarely. Those who heard its cry often mistook it for a child in distress.

Renyu were also said to produce a mysterious oil. This substance burned with an unusually steady flame, and lamps fueled by it were believed to last for an exceptionally long time. Because of this, renyu oil was treasured and used in sacred and imperial places.

Stories also tell of female renyu who appeared as beautiful women living on remote islands or cliffs by the sea. These beings could take human form and live among people. In one tale, a man married such a woman, lived peacefully with her, and fathered children. She protected him, taught him survival skills, and shielded him from danger. But when the man was taken away from the island against his will, the renyu revealed her true nature in grief and fury, casting their children into the sea and vanishing forever.

In another story, a traveler was captured by two mysterious women on an island. They fed him daily and kept him alive, yet he felt suspended between life and death. When he learned too much about their hidden powers, they fled into the sky, abandoning him. Though he escaped, he weakened and died soon after, unable to return fully to the human world.

Renyu were also known by other names, such as child-fish, reflecting both their voices and their unsettling resemblance to human infants. Some lived in rivers, others in the sea, and each variety possessed different forms and powers. All were regarded as beings that blurred the boundary between human and animal, land and water, life and death.

In legend, the renyu are reminders of a world where the natural and supernatural were deeply intertwined—where rivers spoke, fish cried like children, and the sea concealed beings who could heal, deceive, or destroy.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Merfolk. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merfolk

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Henggongyu

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology
Category: Fish, Shapeshifter

The Myth

In the far northern wilderness there lies a frozen lake called Shihu. For most of the year the lake is locked in ice, thawing only for fifty or sixty days around the time of the summer solstice. Within this lake lives a strange and dangerous being known as Henggongyu.

Henggongyu is said to be seven or eight feet long, shaped like a carp, and entirely red in color. During the daytime it remains hidden in the water beneath the ice. When night falls, however, it leaves the lake and transforms into a human, wandering the frozen land in human form before returning to the water by dawn.

The creature cannot be harmed by ordinary means. Needles cannot pierce it, and even boiling water cannot kill it. No matter how long it is cooked, Henggongyu survives—unless two dried plums are placed into the boiling water. Only then does the monster finally die.

Though fearsome, Henggongyu is also believed to possess powerful properties. Eating its flesh cures evil diseases, driving away illnesses caused by malignant forces. For this reason, it is both feared and sought after, a being that brings danger and healing alike.

Thus Henggongyu remains a creature of contradiction: living in a frozen lake, immune to harm, shifting between fish and human, and offering salvation only through great risk.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 橫公魚. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A8%AA%E5%85%AC%E9%B1%BC

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