Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yao1 guai0) or yaomo (妖魔 yao1 mo2) or yaojing (妖精 yao1 jing0) is a Chinese term that generally means "demon". Yaoguai are mostly malevolent animal spirits that have acquired magical powers through the practice of Taoism. The evil ones are usually referred to guai or mo in Chinese. Their greatest goal is achieving immortality and thus deification.
Not all yaojing are actually demons; some others are of quite unusual origins. In the case of Bai Gujing , e.g. it was a skeleton that became such a demon.
Many yaojing are foxes, or according to the Journey to the West pets of the deities.
There are also Yaoguai Kings () that command a number of lessor demon minions.
In Chinese folklore the Chinese hell (Feng Du) is a place that is populated by various demonic spawns. Most of these demons are influenced by the Indian raksasa or yaksa and bear therefore some similarity with the Japanese oni.
In Japanese, yaoguai are known as youkai (actually, the term is a loanword from Chinese).
Famous Yaoguai of Chinese mythology:
- Bai Gujing - A skeleton demon.
- Niu Mo Wang - A bull demon king.
- Lady White Snake
Note: Sun Wukong uses this term often to insult his (demonic) adversaries.
See also
