Chinese Mythology

Hakuryū

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Tradition: Japanese mythology, Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Hakuryū, White Dragon
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The Hakuryū is a white-bodied dragon, its pale form marking it as an auspicious and noble being. White dragons appear in legends, folktales, and the origin stories of temples and shrines, where they are often regarded as masters or gods of mountains, rivers, and lakes. In traditional dictionary definitions, the white dragon is described as a messenger of the Emperor of Heaven.

One of the oldest stories associated with the Hakuryū tells of a white dragon that descended to the Qingleng Abyss. There, it transformed itself into a fish and swam through the waters. A fisherman named Yu Qie encountered the fish and shot it in the eye.

The wounded dragon fled back to heaven and complained to the Emperor of Heaven about what had happened. But the Emperor rebuked it. Since the dragon had deliberately taken the form of a fish, he argued, it had placed itself among creatures naturally hunted by human beings. If Yu Qie had merely shot a fish, what crime had he committed?

The story was later used by Wu Zixu to warn the King of Wu. He explained that the white dragon was a noble creature of the Emperor of Heaven, while Yu Qie was merely a low-ranking official of the state of Song. Yet by disguising itself as a fish, the dragon had allowed itself to be treated like an ordinary creature. Likewise, if a ruler abandoned the dignity of his position and mingled with common people as though he were one of them, he could expose himself to dangers that would otherwise never reach him. The King of Wu was persuaded by the warning and changed his mind.

From this tale came the expression “white dragon in fish clothes,” describing a person of high status who disguises themselves in humble clothing, as well as the misfortunes that can result from such a disguise.

The Hakuryū could also appear as a terrifying force of nature. In 819, during the tenth year of the Kōnin era, a white dragon was said to have appeared in Kyoto amid a violent storm that damaged houses. White dragons were consequently associated not only with celestial power but with the destructive forces of wind and water.

The name Hakuryū could even be applied to the natural world: white, foaming streams and waterfalls were sometimes described as white dragons rushing through the landscape.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “白竜 [はくりゅう] (Hakuryū).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). October 21, 2024. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1082944130.html

Garyō

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Tradition: Chinese mythology
Alternative Names: Garyō, Drawing the Dragon and Dotting Its Eyes
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The Garyō is a dragon depicted in painted form, but one capable of becoming a living creature when its eyes are completed. Its most important feature is therefore the eyes: without them, the painted dragon remains motionless on the wall, but once they are added, the dragon can awaken and fly into heaven.

The story comes from the famous painter Zhang Sengyao of the Liang dynasty. When the Anle Temple in Jinling was being decorated, Zhang painted four white dragons upon its walls. Yet he deliberately left their eyes unfinished.

When people asked why, Zhang warned them that painting in the eyes would cause the dragons to fly away. They dismissed his warning as nonsense and insisted that he complete the paintings.

At last, Zhang took up his brush and dotted the eyes of two of the dragons. At that very moment, thunder and lightning erupted, the wall was broken apart, and the two dragons sprang from the painting and ascended into heaven upon the clouds.

The other two dragons remained upon the wall, still without eyes. They had been left untouched, and so the temple retained two dragons that never came to life.

From this tale came the expression of “drawing the dragon and dotting its eyes,” referring to the crucial final touch that brings an otherwise incomplete work to completion.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “臥竜 [がりょう] (Garyō).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). October 21, 2024. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1083003608.html

Chiryū

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Tradition: Chinese mythology, Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Chiryū, Chi Long, Chi, Ri, Amariyō, Amariyū, Rain Dragon, 螭龍
Category: Dragon

The Myth

The Chiryū is a type of dragon without horns. It is described as red, white, blue, or yellowish-blue in color, with a long, slender tail. Some Japanese descriptions compare it to a mizuchi, but without horns, while others say that it resembles a large lizard.

The Chiryū was known in Japan through Chinese writings and was identified with the Rain Dragon, a dragon associated with bringing rain, as well as with the mizuchi, a dragon-serpent associated with watersides. Its lack of horns was considered one of its defining characteristics.

Chinese descriptions distinguish the Chiryū from other kinds of dragons according to their physical features. Scaled dragons are called Jiaolong, winged dragons are Yinglong, horned dragons are Qiulong, while dragons without horns are Chiryū.

In Japan, the Chiryū became known by the name Amariyō or Amariyū, meaning Rain Dragon. It was described as belonging to the dragon family, without horns, with a long thin tail and a body sometimes compared to that of a large lizard.

Because of its lizard-like appearance and its characteristic lack of horns, foreign reptiles displayed in Japan were sometimes casually described as “children of the Chiryū.”

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “地竜 [ちりゅう] (Chiryū).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). October 21, 2024. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1082955065.html

Jiao

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Tradition: Chinese mythology
Alternative Names: Jiao, Jiaolong, 蛟, 潜蛟
Category: Dragon

The Myth

Jiao is a powerful aquatic creature resembling a dragon, but with shorter horns or sometimes no horns at all. It has protruding fleshy structures between and above the eyes. It is generally described as having a snake-like body and four legs, with some traditions describing it as having a dragon’s head and a snake’s body. Its voice is said to resemble the bellowing of a cow.

Jiao live in lakes, deep pools, ponds, and rivers, often hiding beneath the water or inside deep rocky caves. Those living secretly in ponds and rivers are sometimes called qianjiao, or “hidden jiao.”

Jiao are regarded as lesser beings among the dragon kind. According to one tradition, a snake can transform into a Jiao after five hundred years of cultivation, while a Jiao can transform into a dragon after another thousand years. Some traditions instead say that Jiao can become dragons after spending five hundred years hidden in cold waters and then ascend into heaven. Not every Jiao succeeds, however. Some eventually flow into the sea and become servants of the Dragon Kings, living within their underwater courts.

Jiao compete with one another for control of lakes and other bodies of water. Powerful Jiao can claim large and comfortable lakes, while weaker ones are forced to inhabit smaller ponds and rivers. They are also said to eat fish, causing losses for fishermen. According to one belief, placing a soft-shelled turtle among a school of fish will prevent a Jiao from approaching.

Jiao have a connection to rain and water, but their powers are weaker than those of true dragons and Dragon Kings. They possess only a limited ability to summon rain clouds and cannot control water as dragons do. Their spiritual power is said to be sufficient mainly to prevent the springs within their territory from drying up.

Some traditions distinguish different members of the Jiao kind according to their horns. A one-horned Jiao is called a Qiulong, a two-horned one a Qilong, while a hornless dragon is called a Panlong. The female Jiao is traditionally associated with the Panlong.

In the Qing-dynasty novel Ba Xian De Dao Zhuan, a Jiao dragon spirit becomes an enemy of Zhang Guolao. Their conflict continues throughout the story, and the Jiao dragon spirit is eventually killed by Zhongli Quan, the Thunder God, and the Lightning Goddess. After his death, his wife He Chunying seeks revenge for her husband and becomes an opponent of the Eight Immortals.

Sources

“蛟 (Jiāo; Flood Dragon).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 19, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%9B%9F

Jidiao

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Tradition: Chinese mythology
Alternative Names: Jidiao, 吉弔
Category: Dragon, Turtle

The Myth

Jidiao has the body and shell of a turtle, but its head resembles that of a dragon or snake. Its legs resemble the feet of a bird, with four toes. It is an aquatic creature, though it can also live among trees.

Jidiao is said to live in southern China, particularly around Guangdong and Guangxi, and in areas near the border with Vietnam. It inhabits places near water as well as forests.

According to one tradition, when a dragon lays eggs, it produces two eggs. One hatches into a dragon, while the other becomes a Jidiao. Another account says that a dragon produces three eggs, one of which becomes a Jidiao.

The Jidiao has an unusually long head and tail, so that they cannot both be withdrawn completely into its turtle shell.

Ancient accounts also describe a special fat or oil obtained from the Jidiao. This substance was said to be extremely light and capable of penetrating materials more effectively than clarified butter. It was collected in containers, with eggshells said to be the only vessels that would not allow it to leak through. The fat was used medicinally against poisonous swellings and injuries caused by leeches.

Sources

“吉弔 (Jídiào).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 19, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E5%BC%94

Daolao

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Tradition: Chinese mythology
Alternative Names: Daolao demons
Category: Demon

The Myth

Daolao are malicious creatures that inhabit the mountains of Linchuan County in Jiangxi Province. They appear most often during storms and heavy rain, when they produce whistling sounds and can fire arrows at people. Anyone struck by one of these arrows is immediately covered in sores caused by a powerful poison.

Daolao are divided into males and females. The males are active, but their activity lasts for no more than half a day. The females are comparatively sluggish, and their sluggishness lasts much longer.

People who come into contact with Daolao are usually saved, but those who are rescued only slightly and not completely may die.

Daolao are described as demons whose supernatural nature can bring both trouble and happiness to the world. In the account of Gan Bao, they are presented as examples of the mysterious creatures that exist through the forces of Yin and Yang.

Gan Bao further explains that Heaven and Earth, demons and spirits, were originally born identical to humans. When the elements separated, their essences became different, and differences in the lands produced differences in their forms and natures. The existence of strange creatures such as the Daolao is therefore connected to the primordial forces of Yin and Yang.

Sources

“Даолао (Daolao).” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed September 9, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/Daolao

Puer

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Puer (疟鬼)
Category: Demon

The Myth

Puer is a Chinese supernatural being associated with malaria and other fevers. It was believed to be a demon responsible for causing illness.

In ancient Chinese accounts, Puer could appear before sleeping people in the form of a small animal, a bird, or a human. It would then approach the person’s body and cause them to fall ill. If the victim tried to drive the creature away, it would gradually grow larger.

Because Puer was associated with disease, people developed various customs intended to prevent it from entering their homes. A common practice was to seek refuge in temples or in other people’s houses before the illness was believed to strike, thereby avoiding the demon.

The Taiping Guangji records a story concerning a person from Jiangxi who was suffering from malaria. He encountered two people who told him that they had been sent to treat his illness.

In Anhui, there was also a custom connected with Puer. Before the local disease season, people would make a paste from soybeans, flour, and water, believing that this mixture could suppress the disease demons and prevent them from spreading illness.

Ancient Chinese medical and literary works likewise associated Puer with recurring fevers and disease. Its appearance and influence were understood through the supernatural framework of illness, with the demon serving as an explanation for the sudden onset of fever and other symptoms.

Sources

“疟鬼 (Nüèguǐ; Malaria Ghost).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 6, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%96%9F%E9%AC%BC

Fu Zhu

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 夫诸
Category: Deer

The Myth

Fu Zhu is a strange white deer with four horns. It is described as resembling an ordinary white deer, except for its four antlers. The creature is associated with water and is regarded as an omen of great floods.

The earliest records of Fu Zhu appear in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. In the Central Mountains Classic, a strange beast is described as having the appearance of a white deer with four horns. It is associated with water and is called Fu Zhu.

The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Fu Zhu appeared on a mountain in the Central Mountains region. When the creature appeared, it was regarded as a warning that a great flood would soon occur.

According to the tradition, the appearance of a Fu Zhu was therefore not a favorable sign. When one was seen, the settlement in its vicinity could expect a great inundation.

Sources

“夫諸 (Fūzhū).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 5, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%AB%E8%AB%B8

Sanjiaoshou

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Three-Horned Beast
Category: Deer

The Myth

The Three-Horned Beast is a strange creature from Chinese legend with three horns: one on its head, one on its forehead, and one on its nose. It has a red body and red feet.

The creature is recorded in several ancient Chinese texts. In the Yuan Shi·Yupufu, the Three-Horned Beast is described as having a red body, red feet, a horn on its head, a horn on its forehead, and a horn on its nose, with a white belly and a green back. The Sancai Tuhui describes it as a deer with three horns.

According to the Sancai Tuhui, a Three-Horned Beast appeared on Mount Xishan. It was regarded as an auspicious creature, appearing during the reign of a virtuous ruler who had successfully cultivated the Way of the sages.

The Song Shi·Fuzhi Zhi likewise records the Three-Horned Beast as an auspicious sign associated with the successful cultivation of the teachings of the sages.

The Tianjian states that when a ruler inherited and successfully practiced the Way of the sages without losing it, the Three-Horned Beast would appear.

Sources

“三角兽 (Sānjiǎo shòu; Three-Horned Beast).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 5, 2026.
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E8%A7%92%E5%85%BD

Tianlu

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Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: 天鹿
Category: Deer

The Myth

Tianlu is a legendary creature described as a deer with a single horn. In ancient China, it was regarded as an auspicious animal and a favorable omen.

The Book of Song records Tianlu among auspicious creatures, describing it as a beast of good omen whose appearance was associated with the virtue and prosperity of a ruler. Its body was said to possess a brilliant coloration, and its appearance before a king was considered a favorable sign.

The Yiwenzu Lei likewise records Tianlu in its discussion of auspicious phenomena, describing it as a pure and benevolent beast. Its appearance was connected with virtuous rule and the manifestation of heavenly approval.

Because of its extraordinary appearance and association with auspicious signs, Tianlu was regarded as one of the supernatural deer of ancient Chinese tradition. It represented a favorable omen appearing during the reign of a virtuous ruler.

Sources

“天鹿 (Tiānlù; Heavenly Deer).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed September 5, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A9%E9%B9%BF