XUANYUAN
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes. He was portrayed as the originator of the centralized state, as a cosmic ruler, and as a patron of esoteric arts.
5 AO QIN
The Dragon God of the south and of the essence of summer. He is the patron of the South China Sea.
6 AO GUANG
The Dragon God of the east, and of the essence of spring. He is the patron of the East China Sea.
7 AO RUN
The Dragon God of the west and the essence of autumn. He is the patron of Qinghai Lake.
8 AO SHUN
The Dragon God of the north, the essence of winter and his body of water is Lake Baikal.
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AO BING
The Dragon Prince and third son of the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang of the Crystal Palace. At one point in time, Ao Bing had been renowned as a rain god who provided his rain to any individual in need. Such times would fade away after his father became corrupted and the people soon were put in fear of Ao Guang and his three sons.
11 CHANG’E
Chinese Goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elements: Houyi the archer, a benevolent or malevolent emperor, an elixir of life, and the Moon. She is married to Houyi.
12 HOU YI
Mythological Chinese archer. He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi. He is also typically given the title of “Lord Archer”. He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery descended from heaven to aid mankind. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. His wife is Chang’e, the lunar deity.
13 FENG MENG
He was the apprentice of the divine archer Hou Yi and was envious of his skill with the bow and arrow. In a fit of envy and anger, he murdered Yi with a club made from a peach tree.
14 SHANGDI
Shangdi, also written simply, “Emperor”, is the Chinese term for “Supreme Deity” or “Highest Deity” in the theology of the classical texts, especially deriving from Shang theology and finding an equivalent in the later Tian of Zhou theology.
15 NÜWA
Mother Goddess of Chinese mythology, the sister and wife of Fuxi, the emperor-god. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.
16 FUXI
Culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well as the Cangjie system of writing Chinese characters. Fuxi was counted as the first of the Three Sovereigns at the beginning of the Chinese dynastic period.
17 BAIGUJING
A demon who desired to eat the flesh of Tang Sanzang. She disguised herself as a village girl and offered him and his disciples poisonous fruits. Due to her strong powers, only Sun Wukong could detect that she was a demon.
18 BULL DEMON KING
Known as his self-proclaimed title the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, is a fictional character from the 16th century novel Journey to the West. He is the husband of the Princess Iron Fan and father of Red Boy. He is a demon king based in Sky Scraping Cave on Accumulated Thunder Mountain.
19 OX-HEAD
One of the two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by its name, Ox-Head has the body of a men and a head of an ox. Ox-Head and Horse-Face are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering the underworld; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld.
20 HORSE-FACE
One of the two guardians or types of guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by its name, Horse-face has the body of a men and a face of an horse. Horse-face and Ox-head are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering the underworld; in many stories they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld.
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BLACK TORTOISE
One of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. Despite its English name, it is usually depicted as a turtle entwined together with a snake. Furthermore, in East Asian mythology it is not called after either animal, but is instead known as the “Black Warrior” under various local pronunciations. It represents the north and the winter season.
23 AZURE DRAGON
One of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Forms of the Highest Deity. He is also one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, which are the astral representations of the Wufang Shangdi. The Azure Dragon represents the east and the spring season.
One of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is sometimes called the White Tiger of the West, and is known as Baihu in Chinese. It represents the west in terms of direction and the autumn season.
25 VERMILION BIRD
One of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. it represents the fire-element, the direction south, and the season summer correspondingly.
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BAI ZE
A mythical beast from Chinese legend. Its name literally means “white marsh”. The Baí Zé was encountered by the Yellow Emperor or Huáng Dì while he was on patrol in the east. Thereafter the creature dictated to Huáng Dì a guide to the forms and habits of all 11,520 types of supernatural creatures in the world, and how to overcome their hauntings and attacks.
29 LUDUAN
A legendary Chinese auspicious creature. It looks like a deer with green coat, the tail of a horse and a single horn on its head. It can travel 9,000 km in a single day and speaks all world languages.
30 PIXIU
A Chinese mythical hybrid creature, misattributed to the Greek word “chimera” in the Western world; they are considered powerful protectors of feng shui practitioners. Pixiu resemble strong, winged lions.
31 XIEZHI
A legendary creature in East Asian mythology. According to the legend, Emperor Shun’s minister Gao Yao had a mythical, goat-like creature called the zhi which he used in criminal proceedings whenever he was in doubt. The animal instinctively knew the innocent from the guilty; it butted the latter with its single horn.
32 HULI JING
Are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. It is believed that all things are capable of acquiring human forms, magical powers, and immortality, provided that they receive sufficient energy, in such forms as human breath or essence from the moon and the sun.
33 NIAN
A beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains. The character nian more usually means “year” or “new year”. Once every year at the beginning of Chinese New Year, the nian comes out of its hiding place to feed, mostly on men and animals. During winter, since food is sparse, he would go to the village.
34 QILIN
A mythical hooved chimerical creature known in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin is a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts.
35 XIANGLIU
A venomous nine-headed snake monster that brings flooding and destruction in Chinese mythology. Xiangliu may be depicted with his body coiled on itself. The nine heads are arranged differently in different representations. Modern depictions resemble the hydra with each head on a separate neck. Older wood-cuts show the heads clustered on a single neck, either side-by-side or in a stack three high, facing three directions.
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