Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Characters / ChineseMythology

Go To

1!Deities, Spirits, Creatures and Mortals
2
3Please note that this list is incomplete and remains under construction. Mandarin pinyin and traditional Chinese characters are prioritized on this page.
4
5It should also be noted that Chinese mythology and folk religion is ''very'' extensive and varies by region, and many folk practices are not recorded in text.
6
7[[foldercontrol]]
8
9!!Cosmic Deities
10
11[[folder:Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor (玉皇大帝)]]
12Ruler of Heaven in Daoist cosmology, and the head of the heavenly bureaucracy.
13----
14* AdaptationalJerkass: He is generally portrayed as a benevolent ruler in the original myths; but there are a lot later myths and tales where he is instead selfish and wrathful, sometimes even serving the role as an antagonist. ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' is the most notable example of this, where the Jade Emperor is a haughty and cowardly ruler who almost constantly deals out DisproportionateRetribution as a way of punishing others.
15* AnimalLover: {{Implied|Trope}}, as he was stated to have shown respect and benevolence to both men and creatures.
16* TheEmperor: Naturally, but as a Type IV, of [[TheGoodKing the benevolent sort]].
17* TheGoodKing: The Jade Emperor made sure that everyone in his kingdom found peace and contentment.
18* GoodParents: In the variation of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" as seen below in the LoveObstructingParents entry, the Jade Emperor eventually took pity on his daughter and her husband and allowed the two to meet once a year on a bridge over the Celestial River.
19* IHaveManyNames: The Jade Emperor is known by ''many'' epithets.
20* LoveObstructingParents: In some variations of the story of "[[UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}} The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl]]", the Jade Emperor is the Weaver Girl's father and was infuriated when the Cowherd tricked his (youngest) daughter into staying with him, but was unable to interfere; and when the Weaver Girl grew homesick and visited him, the Jade Emperor summoned the Celestial River (the Milky Way) to [[StarCrossedLovers separate the lovers]].
21* OverlyLongName: The most respectful way to address the Jade Emperor apparently has ''38'' Chinese characters, "昊天金闕無上至尊自然妙有彌羅至真高天上聖大慈仁者玉皇赦罪錫福大天尊玄穹高上帝", which roughly translates to "Of the Golden Palace in the Vast Sky, Venerated Above All Others, Wonder of Nature, the Vast and Overreaching One, Sage of the Highest Skies, the Great and Benevolent One, the Jade Emperor; Pardoner of Crimes, One Who Bestows Fortune, Great Respected One of the Skies, the High Emperor".
22* TimeAbyss: He didn't ascend to the throne until he was nearly 227 ''million'' years old.
23* TopGod: He's the head of the whole Chinese CelestialBureaucracy.
24[[/folder]]
25
26[[folder:Pangu (盤古)]]
27A massive giant whose birth heralded the creation of the world and whose death created the world as we know it.
28----
29* CosmicEgg: Where he came from.
30* GiantCorpseWorld: After the death of Pangu, his body was made into the earth, his blood the sea, his eyes the sun and moon, and the lice around his body was turned into the first people.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Xi Wangmu (西王母), Queen Mother of the West]]
34Rules from the sacred Mount Kunlun. She is a guide to all Daoists, but in particular she guides women who wish to become immortals.
35----
36* AdaptationalNiceGirl: In ''Shanhaijing'' ("The Classic of Mountains and Seas"), the Queen Mother was a malicious goddess who created natural disasters and plagues. In Taoist interpretations, she is much more benevolent towards her followers.
37* TheHighQueen: The Queen Mother was said to be held in especially high regard by Chinese women who did not represent the societal norm of the submissive woman. To these women, The Queen Mother of the West was seen as "a powerful, independent deity representing the ultimate yin controlling immortality and the afterlife".
38* TextileWorkIsFeminine: She is the embodiment of ''yin'' (dark/feminine energy) and is associated with weaving.
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Yanluo Wang (閻羅王)]]
42The God of death and the afterlife, he's the ruler of Diyu (the Chinese underworld).
43----
44* GodOfTheDead: He presides over the underworld and judges the souls of the deceased to determine what afterlives or reincarnations they will be sent to. He is often syncretized with Yama.
45[[/folder]]
46
47
48!!Three Patrons and Five Deities
49
50[[folder:Nüwa (女媧)]]
51The serpent goddess who created humanity and saved mankind from many a catastrophe. Nüwa used yellow clay from a water bed to mould the first modern humans. These humans were very smart and successful since they were individually crafted. Nüwa then became bored of individually making every human by hand so she improved by putting a rope in the water bed. The small drops of clay that fell from it became more humans, not as smart as the first, i.e. the lower classes.
52----
53* SnakePeople: Had the lower half of a snake with brilliant white scales. Crosses over with DragonsAreDivine in some versions where she is interpreted as a dragon rather than a humanoid.
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Fuxi (伏羲)]]
57Nüwa's husband, and sometimes [[{{Twincest}} twin]] [[BrotherSisterIncest brother]]. A god of agriculture and learning, he was also the First Sovereign of China who laid down laws for the new humans to live by.
58----
59* TheGoodKing: The first ruler of China and a mostly benevolent one too.
60* SnakePeople: Just like his sister, his lower half was that of a snake.
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Shennong, the Yan Emperor (神農/炎帝)]]
64The Flame (or "red") Emperor, translated literally as "Divine farmer". He is credited with teaching humans the use of the plow, aspects of basic agriculture, and the use of medicinal plants.
65----
66* AsiansLoveTea: While Shennong is more well-known for drinking tea as herbal medicine than a beverage, mythologically speaking, he's the ''reason'' Chinese people started drinking tea in the first place.
67* DeathByIrony: In some myths, Shennong died as a result of his researches into the properties of plants by experimenting upon his own body -- it's said that he ate the yellow flower of a weed that caused his intestines to rupture before he had time to swallow his antidotal tea.
68* DrinkBasedCharacterization: Shennong is said to have first tasted tea, traditionally in ca. 2437 BC, when tea leaves landed in his cauldron of boiling water. Since then, he's said to take advantage of the medicinal properties of tea to cure him of ailments caused by consuming poisonous herbs.
69* TheMedic: Shennong is sometimes called the "Father of Chinese Medicine", being attributed with the invention of acupuncture, and moxibustion, the refinement of the therapeutic understanding of taking pulse measurements, and his discovery of various herbal plants' medicinal properties.
70* NatureLover: As the inventor of various aspects of agriculture, this is a given.
71* SniffSniffNom: Was said to have tried eating every kind of plant available to see which ones were beneficial and which were poisonous. In some versions of the myth, his quest ended when he accidentally ate a poisonous plant and died before he could drink his medicinal antidote of tea.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor (黃帝)]]
75The Yellow Emperor, and supposed ancestor of all modern ethnic Chinese. He was something of a ScienceHero, teaching the people how to build shelters, tame wild animals and grow the five Chinese cereals. He also invented carts, boats, clothing, the guqin, the diadem, palace rooms, the bow sling, astronomy, the calendar, calculations, sound laws, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking football]], and wrote the Inner Canon on internal medicine that all traditional Chinese medicine was based on. He commissioned Cang Jie to create the first Chinese characters, and his main wife Leizu taught people how to weave silk from silkworms and dye clothes.
76----
77* DragonsAreDivine: Was carried to Heaven on the back of a shining dragon.
78[[/folder]]
79
80!!Gods of Celestial and Terrestrial Phenomena
81
82[[folder:Chongli (重黎)]]
83He's alternatively called Zhurong (祝融). Revered personage in Chinese myths, according to the ''Huainanzi'' and the philosophical texts of Mozi and his followers, Zhurong is a god of fire and of the south. Zhurong was said to be the son of Gaoyang who had also a second son Gun, who in turn fathered Yu the Great. Chongli is the father of Gong Gong, a sea monster and troublemaking deity.
84----
85* GodOfFire: He is the god of fire (well, one of them), which is ironic given his son is a sea god.
86* WarGod: Venerated in armies.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Feng Po Po (風婆婆)]]
90Feng Po Po or Feng Popo is the goddess of the wind in Chinese mythology. She is referred to as "Madame Wind" (literally translated as "Grandmother/Old Lady Wind"), and is usually depicted as a crone. Feng Po Po can be seen riding through clouds on the back of a tiger.
91----
92* BlowYouAway: The goddess (well, a goddess at any rate) of winds and breezes.
93* DistaffCounterpart: To Fengbo (風伯), the god of wind who she replaces in some variants of myth.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Hebo (河伯)]]
97The god of the Yellow River (Huang He), which is one of the world's major rivers and a river of great cultural importance in China. This is reflected in Chinese mythology by the tales surrounding the deity Hebo, whose name translated means "Lord of the River".
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Lei Gong (雷公)]]
101Leigong or Leishen (the latter name, literally translated, means "God of Thunder"), is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism. In Taoism, when so ordered by heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their knowledge of Taoism to harm human beings. He is often depicted as being accompanied by his consort ''Dianmu'' (電母, "Mother of Lightning"), ''Yuntong'' ("Child of Clouds") and Yu Shi (雨師, "Lord of Rain") who assist him in creating thunderstorms.
102----
103* ArrangedMarriage: The Jade Emperor arranged Leigong to be married to Dianmu because he killed her, making it his responsibility to take care of her. However, it's implied that Dianmu [[EasilyForgiven forgave him for that]] and thus shines a light (lightning) onto Earth using a mirror to ensure that Leigong doesn't smite the wrong people.
104* BackFromTheDead: The Jade Emperor revived Dianmu and made her a goddess after she was wrongfully killed by Leigong.
105* GodOfThunder: His role.
106* HairTriggerTemper: Leigong gets angry easily. This, when combined with how the sky gets dark when he smites people, usually results in him smiting innocents. For instance, he killed Dianmu when she was a mortal because he thought she was wasting food.[[note]]She was dumping out the hard rice husks that her mother couldn't eat.[[/note]]
107* ThunderDrum[=/=]ThunderHammer: He is depicted as a bird-headed humanoid who carries a mallet and [[ThunderDrum drum]] which can produce thunder, and a chisel to punish evildoers.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Tudi Gong (土地公)]]
111He's also known as Dabo Gong (大伯公, "the Great Elder Lord") and is the god of soil and land. He is traditionally venerated as a part of burial rituals, and his reputation for granting blessings has earned him the formal name of Fudegong (福德公), the lord of blessing and virtue.
112[[/folder]]
113
114
115!!Gods of Human Virtues and Crafts
116
117[[folder:Lord Wenchang (文昌帝)]]
118God of bureaucrats and culture, scholars typically pray to Lord Wenchang before taking exams, and keeping the Cinnamon Record, in which all men's deeds and fates are recorded, is his responsibility.
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Guan Yu (關羽)]]
122The god of war and business, originally a historical general from the [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms Three Kingdoms]] period who was later deified in the Chinese mythological pantheon. It is an interesting thing that both policemen and criminals pray to Guan Yu... mainly because, among other things, Guan Yu is essentially also the god of TrueCompanions.
123[[/folder]]
124
125
126!!Imported Deities
127[[folder:Guanyin (觀音)]]
128The Chinese (and East and Southeast Asian) version of the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, originally based on the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. She is sometimes not conflated with Avalokitesvara, and Daoists also worship her as an Immortal. Her worship may be usefully compared to the veneration of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholicism.
129----
130* GodIsGood: Guanyin is the goddess of mercy, compassion, and unconditional love in Chinese mythology. She loves you, will always be there for you, and asks for nothing in return.
131* IHaveManyNames: Due to her popularity across not just China, but East and Southeast Asia (which Chinese culture had a fairly large influence on) as a whole, Guanyin has many names across many Asian languages, often derived from her Chinese name.
132[[/folder]]
133
134
135!!Regional Deities
136
137[[folder:Huang Daxian (黃大仙)]]
138Literally translated as the "Great Immortal Huang", Huang Daxian is a deified Taoist hermit with the divine power of healing. He is primarily worshipped in Jinhua, Zhejiang, his hometown when he was a human, as well as surprisingly Hong Kong (under the Cantonese form of his name, "Wong Tai Sin"), where a temple dedicated to him gave its name to an entire region and District of the city.
139----
140* DeityOfHumanOrigin: He's thought of as the divine form of Huang Chuping (黃初平, or Wong Cho Ping in Cantonese Romanization, c. 328 – c. 386), a Taoist hermit from the Eastern Jin dynasty.
141* HealerGod: He is believed to be one.
142[[/folder]]
143
144[[folder:Mazu (媽祖)]]
145She is a sea goddess also known by [[IHaveManyNames several other names and titles]], e.g. Tin Hau (天后, "Queen of Heaven") in Hong Kong. She is the deified form of the purported historical Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose lifespan is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. She is venerated after her death as a tutelary deity of seafarers, including fishermen and sailors, her worship spread throughout China's coastal regions (mainly in the south) and overseas Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia. She was thought to roam the seas, protecting her believers through miraculous interventions.
146----
147[[/folder]]
148
149
150!!Other Deities and Spirits
151
152[[folder:The Eight Immortals (八仙)]]
153Eight people from across China's social make-up: beggars, nobles, men and women -- who all became immortal and are known for celebrating raucously. They are an exception to the 'Celestial Bureaucracy' part of being deities: they hold no official positions.
154----
155* WholesomeCrossdresser: Lan Caihe (藍采和), one of the Eight Immortals, may or may not be one. [[DependingOnTheWriter It depends on who you ask.]]
156[[/folder]]
157
158[[folder:The Three Pure Ones]]
159Three kings, one of which who ruled Heaven and Earth before giving the position to the Jade Emperor. They are the oldest beings in existence. They are more closely related to Taoism and do not play too much part in rural Chinese belief.
160[[/folder]]
161
162[[folder:Erlang Shen (二郎神)]]
163Erlang Shen or just Erlang is a Chinese god with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead. Erlang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who helped regulate China's torrential floods dating variously from the Qin, Sui, and Jin dynasties. A later Buddhist source identifies him as the second son of the Northern Heavenly King Vaishravana. In the Ming semi-mythical novels ''Creation of the Gods'' and ''Journey to the West'', Erlang Shen is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. In the former, he assists the Zhou army in defeating the Shang. In the latter, he is the second son of a mortal and the Jade Emperor's sister. In the legend, he is known as the greatest warrior god of heaven.
164[[/folder]]
165
166[[folder:Meng Po (孟婆)]]
167Meng Po, translated as Grandmother Meng or Old Lady Meng, is the goddess of forgetfulness. She serves in Diyu and is tasked with ensuring souls who are ready to be reincarnated [[DeathAmnesia do not remember their previous life or their time in Hell]], which she accomplishes by giving them her Soup of Oblivion on the Bridge of Forgetfulness. Or in Westerners' eyes, think Lethe from Myth/ClassicalMythology, both the goddess and the river.
168----
169* CompositeCharacter: In some versions, Grandmother Meng had an origin story -- that her true identity was Lady Meng Jiang (孟姜女), whose husband died tragically. In those versions, after the death of her husband, Meng Jiang found herself unable to reincarnate due to her grief, so in order to relieve the pain of life of other spirits, Lady Meng took the initiative to create a bowl of soup that would allow spirits to forget the suffering of their material life.
170* DeathAmnesia: InvokedTrope. The Soup of Oblivion (迷魂湯/迷魂汤, ''Míhúntāng'', also translated as the Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness) is brewed by Grandmother Meng using herbs collected from various earthly ponds and streams. It's drunk by every soul as they leave Diyu for reincarnation. This memory/memories can be recovered through aid from some powerful beings (or by Enlightening yourself), as happened in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''.
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Zhong Kui (鍾馗)]]
174Traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings, and reputedly being able to command 80,000 demons, his image is often painted on household gates as a guardian spirit, as well as in places of business where high-value goods are involved.
175----
176* BeautyEqualsGoodness: {{Inverted|Trope}}. He was unfairly stripped of his title of ''Zhuangyuan'' (狀元/状元, top-scorer) of the Imperial Examinations by the Emperor, due to his disfigured and ugly appearance. This caused him to be DrivenToSuicide by continually hurling himself against the palace gates until his head was broken.
177* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Due to his friend Du Ping (杜平) [[DueToTheDead burying him and laying him to rest]] after his suicide, Zhong Kui returned to their hometown after his death and gave his younger sister in marriage to Du Ping to repay his kindness.
178* TheGhostKing: Being given the title by Yanluo Wang, he was tasked with hunting, capturing, taking charge of, and maintaining discipline and order of all ghosts.
179* SuicideIsShameful: Zhong Kui's spirit was condemned to Hell because suicide was considered a grave sin, but Yanluo Wang saw potential in him and his intelligence, and judged him worthy of the title "King of Ghosts" in Diyu/Hell.
180[[/folder]]
181
182
183!!The Xia Dynasty
184The legendary, borderline-mythical first dynasty of China. Since there were no written records during the time supposed to be the Xia Dynasty, tropes related to it belong here instead of the page UsefulNotes/DynastiesFromShangToQing.
185
186[[folder:Yu the Great (大禹)]]
187The 1st King and founder of the Xia Dynasty, and one of China's cultural heroes.
188----
189[[/folder]]
190
191[[folder:King Jie (夏桀)]]
192The 17th and last King of the Xia Dynasty. He was overthrown in a peasant rebellion and succeeded by Tang of Shang (商湯), the first King of the historical Shang Dynasty.
193----
194%%* TheCaligula:
195[[/folder]]
196
197
198!!Mythological Creatures
199
200[[folder:Dragons (龍)]]
201Among the most famous of the Chinese mythological figures and creatures at large, the Dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it in Chinese (and by extension, East Asian) culture. Traditionally, they also symbolize potent and auspicious powers, particularly control over water, rainfall, typhoons, and floods. In Imperial times, Dragons are also seen as the symbol of the Emperor, and even in the modern day, excellent and outstanding people are compared to Dragons (including in idioms and proverbs). They are usually depicted as a snake-like creature with four legs and a stylized mane.\
202
203The linguist Michael Carr analyzed over 100 ancient Dragon names attested in Chinese classic texts.
204----
205* AlwaysLawfulGood: In stark contrast with the usually malevolent Western Dragons, in Chinese mythology, Dragons are regarded as [[DragonsAreDivine wise and benevolent creatures of good fortune]], bringing rain to water the crops of farmers.[[note]]One example of this is in the story of the EasternZodiac, where the Dragon got fifth place in the Great Race. When the Jade Emperor asks him why it took him so long (as he could have got first place since he could fly, unlike the other beasts), the Dragon answered that he stopped by a drought-struck village to bring rain upon them, so he was a bit late.[[/note]] That said, [[BewareTheNiceOnes they're absolutely destructive when angered]].
206* BlackComedyRape: Stories of Chinese dragons raping elderly men are quite common.
207* CallAPegasusAHippogriff: In all honesty these things have very little to do with western dragons. Whereas the former are essentially everything wrong about snakes, Chinese dragons (or Lung) are more mammalian, aquatic creatures with divine attributes.
208* DragonHoard: The ''fuzanglong'' (伏藏龍/伏藏龙, "hidden treasure dragon") lives underground, guarding both man-made treasure as well as natural deposits of precious stone or metal. They are also held responsible for volcanism.
209* MixAndMatchCritters: According to the Han dynasty scholar Wang Fu:
210-->The people paint the dragon's shape with a horse's head and a snake's tail. Further, there are expressions as 'three joints' and 'nine resemblances' (of the dragon), to wit: from head to shoulder, from shoulder to breast, from breast to tail. These are the joints; as to the nine resemblances, they are the following: his antlers resemble those of a stag, his head that of a camel, his eyes those of a demon, his neck that of a snake, his belly that of a clam (''shen'', 蜃), his scales those of a carp, his claws those of an eagle, his soles those of a tiger, his ears those of a cow. Upon his head he has a thing like a broad eminence (a big lump), called ''chimu'' (尺木). If a dragon has no ''chimu'', he cannot ascend to the sky.
211* NonMammalianHair: It's common for Chinese Dragons, who are more or less universally described as great reptilian serpents, to be depicted with furry manes and whiskers.
212* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Certain types of Dragons serve the same purpose to Judeo-Christian angels, bearing messages from Heaven and back and so forth.
213* ThePowerOfTheSun: Although they are mostly associated with water, they are still pure yang (the masculine and light energy) and sometimes are seen pulling the chariot of the sun.
214* SpearCounterpart: The Dragons are seen as the masculine counterpart of the Fenghuang.
215[[/folder]]
216
217[[folder:Fenghuang (鳳凰)]]
218A species of bird which reigns over all other birds, and resides traditionally in the Kunlun Mountains. They usually symbolize virtue and grace, as well as the union of yin and yang.
219----
220* CallAPegasusAHippogriff: Just about the only thing the Fenghuang and the phoenix have are being DivineBirds.
221* DistaffCounterpart: Initially within the bird species itself, the Feng (鳳) are the [[SpearCounterpart males]] while the Huang (凰) are the females. However, over time, the above distinction is blurred such that the Fenghuang as a species in itself is seen as the feminine counterpart of the Dragon.
222* MixAndMatchCritters:
223** According to the ''Erya'', the first surviving Chinese dictionary, the Fenghuang has the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag, and the tail of a fish.
224** Modern interpretations tone the above down, and depict the Fenghuang as a mix-and-match of various birds, having the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow.
225* ThePhoenix: This creature is traditionally translated as the Chinese "Phoenix", but the similarities between the Fenghuang and the (Western) Phoenix are primarily superficial. As a result, the Fenghuang of Chinese mythology will be translated as such, while the term "Phoenix" will be used referring to the phoenix of Western mythology only.
226* PortentOfDoom: InvertedTrope. It is believed that the Fenghuang only appears in areas or places that are blessed with utmost peace and prosperity or happiness.
227[[/folder]]
228
229[[folder:Huli-jing (狐狸精)]]
230Literally translated as "Fox Spirits", the Huli-jing are shape-shifting fox-like creatures which can be both benevolent and malicious. The most famous of them are the Jiuweihu (九尾狐, "Nine-Tailed Foxes"), which can be either a good or bad omen, DependingOnTheWriter.
231----
232* AsianFoxSpirit: The UrExample and TropeMaker which the more well-known Japanese equivalent, the ''kitsune'', is based on.
233* FoulFox: In their malicious forms, they're vampiric shapeshifting foxes composed of yin who need to seduce men to drain their yang.
234* GoldColoredSuperiority: In some accounts, when a Huli-jing is a thousand years old, it ascends to Heaven and becomes a celestial fox, with gold fur and nine tails.
235[[/folder]]
236
237[[folder:Jian (鶼)]]
238The Jian (鶼, ''Jiān''), also known as the Bǐyìniǎo (比翼鳥), the Mánmán (蠻蠻), and other obscure names, are wild duck-like birds with one eye, one wing, and one leg. As a result, two birds can join together as a pair, the jianjian (鶼鶼, ''Jiānjiān''), to support each other.
239----
240* {{Cyclops}}: The Jian are said to have one eye each.
241* OneTrueLove: In Chinese tradition, the Jianjian are said to symbolize married couples who are this.[[note]]Some sayings go that the paired-up jianjian are one male and one female, representing a husband and a wife, but the ''Shanhaijing'' itself never mentioned the birds' sex or gender, so same-gender interpretations are theoretically possible.[[/note]] They seem to [[SadlyMythtaken conveniently forget]] it's ''also'' said that their appearance as a pair signifies the coming of a great flood.
242* PortentOfDoom: Their appearance is said to be a bad omen as it indicates a flood is imminent.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:Jiangshi (殭屍)]]
246----
247* ChineseVampire: TropeMaker and UrExample.
248[[/folder]]
249
250[[folder:Longma (龍馬)]]
251Literally translated as the "Dragon-horse", the Longma is a mystical winged horse with dragon scales that typically appears an omen for the arrival of a legendary sage-ruler.
252----
253* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Dragons in eastern myth are associated more with water than fire. A Longma will sometimes appear from beneath a river and bestow blessings or honors to someone who has earned heaven's favors.
254* {{Pegasus}}: It ''is'' a kind of winged horse, after all.
255[[/folder]]
256
257[[folder:Nian (年獸)]]
258Nian (年, "year"), or Nianshou (年獸, "year-beast"), is a beast which lives in the mountains (or in some interpretations, the sea), and emerges every year in the winter (around the Lunar New Year) to feed, mostly on people and animals. As a result, many people take advantage of its fears and weaknesses to ward it away and keep their homes safe.\
259
260The earliest written sources that refer to the ''nian'' as a creature date to the early 20th century. As a result, it is unclear whether the ''nian'' creature is an authentic part of traditional folk mythology, or a part of a local oral tradition that was recorded in the early 20th century, though it is possible many of its traits are an amalgam of various beasts and traditions in Chinese myths and folklore. In spite of its dubious ''mythological'' origins, its story is one of the most well-known folk tales among modern ethnic Chinese, as many of the cultural practices of Chinese New Year in the present day are derived from its story.
261----
262* ChildEater: Among its legendary man-eating tendencies, some versions of the myth say that Nian has a tendency to eat village children.
263* ToServeMan: One of the reasons people used to fear Nian so much is because it mainly comes down from the mountain to feast on humans in the rural villages.
264* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The colour red and loud noises, and in some versions, light and cleanliness. This is {{exploited|Trope}} by many villages across China, which decorate their houses with red paper decorations like ''huichun''/''fai chun'' (揮春/挥春), wear red clothing, and set off firecrackers to scare it off.
265[[/folder]]
266
267[[folder:Nine-headed Bird (九頭鳥)]]
268A precursor of the ''fenghuang'' and the totem of the Kingdom of Chu (楚) from the Warring States period, worshipped by ancient indigenous peoples of what is now Hubei Province. It was demonized by the reigning Zhou Dynasty due to the two states' hostile relationship.
269[[/folder]]
270
271[[folder:Qilin (麒麟)]]
272A hooved chimerical creature which symbolizes luck, good omens, protection, prosperity, success, longevity, and sometimes fertility.
273----
274* CallAPegasusAHippogriff: Sometimes called "Asian Unicorns" but generally are depicted as essentially ungulate dragons.
275* JusticeWillPrevail: In Taoist depictions, in spite of their fearsome appearances, the Qilin only punishes the wicked, and there are stories with accounts of court trials and judgments based on the Qilin divinely knowing whether a defendant is good or evil, guilty or innocent.
276* {{Kirin}}: The TropeMaker.
277* MixAndMatchCritters: Most depictions of the Qilin throughout Chinese history are typically this:
278** In the Jin dynasty (晉朝), the Qilin was depicted as wreathed in flame and smoke, with a dragon-like head, scales, and the body of a powerful hooved beast such as a horse.
279** In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the Qilin was represented as an oxen-hoofed animal with a dragon-like head surmounted by a pair of horns and flame-like head ornaments.
280** The Qilin of China's subsequent (Manchu) Qing dynasty (1644–1911) had the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the skin and scales of a fish, the hooves of an ox, and tail of a lion.
281* NeverHurtAnInnocent: In Buddhist depictions, the Qilin takes great care when they walk to never tread on a living creature, and will even refuse to walk upon grass for fear of harming a single blade, but [[GoodIsNotSoft can become fierce if a pure person is threatened by a malicious one]].
282* PortentOfDoom: ZigZaggingTrope. The Qilin are said to appear with the imminent arrival ''or'' passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.
283[[/folder]]
284
285[[folder:Sun Crows (陽烏)]]
286The children of Xihe (羲和), the solar goddess and co-consort of Di Jun, the ten Sun Crows initially resided in a mulberry tree called the Fusang (扶桑). Each day, one of the brothers would ride a carriage driven by their mother across the skies to bring daylight to the world. However, one day in the reign of Emperor Yao (around 2170 BC), all ten brothers emerged together, creating an AlienSky and causing the world to burn. Houyi the archer shot down nine of them, leaving only one Sun Crow to provide light.
287----
288* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: The Sun Crows have golden plumage, so they are also called the "Golden Crows" (金烏, ''Jīnwū''). It's {{justified|Trope}} in that they are supernatural entities and embodiments of the Sun.
289* AmbiguousSituation: Some tellings say that the reason all ten brothers rose at the same time was because they were fed up with taking turns, while others say it was out of mischief. Either way, they all emerged together on that fateful day.
290* DivineBirds: As symbols of the Sun, though their mythological claim to fame did end with nine out of ten of them dying.
291* {{Irony}}: In spite of being the ''Sun'' Crows, they are closely associated with the myths surrounding the Mid-Autumn Festival, where ''Moon'' worship is practised.
292* LightIsNotGood: These rascals almost caused the extinction of all life on earth as ten suns was enough to burn the surface of the earth. Thankfully, Houyi killed them.
293* ThePowerOfTheSun: The sun is embodied as a crow. Well, multiple birds in the past.
294* SoleSurvivor: Houyi shot down nine of the ten Sun Crows, leaving only one of the brothers alive. Some versions of the story suggest Houyi actually wanted to kill all ten of them, but ultimately decided against it (sometimes by the advice of the Emperor) because the people still needed a Sun to provide light and warmth so they could grow crops and survive.
295* VertebrateWithExtraLimbs: The Sun Crows have three legs, causing them to be often called the Three-legged Crows (三足烏/三足乌, ''Sānzúwū'').
296[[/folder]]
297
298[[folder:The Thirty-Six Overseas Nations (海外三十六國)]]
299The 36 Overseas Nations are somewhat similar to [[https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/fabulous-tribes.html the legendary tribes]] of Myth/ClassicalMythology, in that they are seen as nations and clans of humanoids with fantastical features. The main sources for these nations are the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huainanzi Huainanzi]]'' (淮南子), the ''Shanhaijing'' (山海經/山海经, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"), and other texts.
300
301The ''Shanhaijing'' divides the 36 Overseas Nations by their place of residence:
302* Western[[note]]Nation of the Long-Legged (長股國/长股国, ''Chánggǔguó''), Nation of Sky People (天民國/天民国, ''Tiānmín'guó''), Nation of Solemnity (肅慎國/肃慎国, ''Sùshèn'guó''), Nation of White(-clothed) People (白民國/白民国, ''Báimín'guó''), Nation of the Fertile (沃民國/沃民国, ''Wòmín'guó''), Nation of Women (女子國/女子国), Nation of Husbands (丈夫國/丈夫国, ''Zhàngfūguó''), Nation of the Single-Limbed (奇肱國/奇肱国, ''Jīgōngguó'', or 奇股國/奇股国, ''Jīgǔguó''), Nation of the One-Armed (一臂國/一臂国, ''Yībìguó''), Nation of the Three-Bodied (三身國/三身国, ''Sānshēn'guó'')[[/note]]
303* Southern[[note]]Nation of the Lump-Chested (結匈國/结匈国, ''Jiéxiōngguó''), Nation of Feathered People (羽民國/羽民国, ''Yǔmín'guó''), Nation of the Cheerful-Headed (讙頭國/讙头国, ''Huāntóuguó''), Nation of the Nude People (裸民國/裸民国, ''Luǒmín'guó''), the Sanmiao tribes (三苗), Nation of the Crossed Shins (交脛國/交胫国, ''Jiāojìngguó''), Nation of the Holed Chests (貫匈國/贯匈国, ''Guànxiōngguó'', lit. "go through chest nation"), Nation of the Forked/Reversed Tongue (岐舌國/岐舌国, ''Qíshéguó'', or 反舌國/反舌国, ''Fǎnshéguó''), Nation of the Pig-Snouted (豕喙國/豕喙国, ''Shǐhuìguó''), Nation of the Chisel-Toothed (鑿齒國/凿齿国, ''Záochǐguó''), Nation of the Three-Headed (三首國/三首国, ''Sānshǒuguó''), Nation of the Long-Armed (長臂國/长臂国, ''Chángbìguó'')[[/note]]
304* Eastern[[note]][[/note]]
305* Northern[[note]][[/note]]
306----
307
308* BirdPeople:
309** The Nation of Feathered People is essentially this. They are described to have long and sharp heads with beaks, MysticalWhiteHair, and red eyes, and are hatched from eggs. They are also said to [[WingedHumanoid have wings on their backs]], but cannot fly far.
310** The Nation of the Cheerful-Headed also classify as this. They are said to be half-man and half-bird, having human faces with beaks and wings, but are flightless and have to hold their wings like crutches to walk.
311* TheBeastmaster: In some tellings, the People of the Nation of the Three-Bodied have the ability to tame and harness the power of "the Four Birds", with the "birds" in question being [[PantheraAwesome the tiger, the leopard]], the brown bear, and (presumably) the Asian black bear.
312* BodyHorror: The closest description of the Nation of the Holed Chest is this, as their people have holes in their chests (roughly just under the ribs in artwork) like they've been impaled through. Also because of this, they don't wear shirts and sometimes carry each other around with a bamboo-wood pole.
313** There's actually a mythological explanation for this: After Fangfeng the giant-god was executed for being late to an assembly, his descendants blamed Yu the Great for Fangfeng's death and when Yu toured the south after solving the flood problem, those descendants saw him passing by in a chariot and shot at him. However, they killed themselves by stabbing themselves in the chest when they heard thunder, fearing the wrath of the gods. Yu, knowing Fangfeng was late to the assembly because he was trying to ''save'' people from the floods, commended on the descendants' loyalty to Fangfeng and ordered people to stuff herbs of the undying into the holes in the descendants' chests, so they would return to life as the Nation of the Holed Chests.
314* CompulsiveLiar: According to ''Flowers in the Mirror'', a novel written in the Qing dynasty, the reason the people in the Nation of the Pig-Snouted have their pig snouts is because they were frequent liars in their past lives, but there were so many of them that Avīci (i.e. the Buddhist version of Hell) couldn't hold them all, so the liars with lighter sentences were reincarnated into their next lives with pigs' snouts as punishment.
315* {{Cyclops}}: People of the Nation of the One-Armed only have one eye each... along with only one nostril, one arm, and one leg, kind of like a human version of the Jian.
316* ElixirOfLife: The Nation of the Undying live on Mount Yuánqiū, where there is a tree which provides {{immortality}} when it is eaten, and the water of the Red Spring there gives the drinker eternal youth.
317* EternalVillain: The Sanmiao tribes were this to pre-dynastic China, having allegedly antagonized the Han Chinese of the Central Plains multiple times even as they were defeated and exiled far away. It took a 70-day-long FinalBattle against Yu the Great and his forces for them to be permanently subdued, and even then, their status as this is forever recorded in the "Book of Documents" (書經/书经, ''Shūjīng'') as one of the Four Criminals.
318* ExtraEyes: People of the Nation of the Single-Limbed have three eyes.[[note]]They're the Nation of the Single-Armed according to Guo Pu, and of the Single-Legged according to the ''Huainanzi'', so 'Single-Limbed' is used here as a compromise.[[/note]]
319* FamousAncestor:
320** Both the Nations of the White(-clothed) People and the Three-Bodied are said to be descended from Di Jun (帝俊), the Shangdi of the ''Shanhaijing'' -- the White-clothed are descendants of Di Hong (帝鴻/帝鸿), his son, while the Three-Bodied are descendants of him and one of his consorts, E'huang (娥皇).
321** The Nation of the Cheerful-Headed are descended from the legendary Emperor Yao's son, Danzhu (丹朱), who was described to be cruel and stubborn. The Nation's supposed origin story was that when Emperor Yao passed his power to his successor Shun[[labelnote:*]]Yes, in pre-Dynasty era China, the position of Emperor was passed by the current Emperor training a successor to be wise and virtuous, and allowing a superior successor than themself to take their place as Emperor, rather than by bloodline[[/labelnote]] and sent his wayward son south to the Dan River (丹水) to rule over a state, Danzhu started a rebellion alongside the Sanmiao tribes... that got crushed by his father, and Danzhu [[DrivenToSuicide threw himself into the Southern Sea]] (now the South China Sea) out of shame. He got [[ForcedTransformation turned into the Zhuniao]] (鴸鳥) for his trouble, and his descendants established the Nation of the Cheerful-Headed.
322* FoodAsCharacterization: Several of the 36 Overseas Nations have their local diets recorded:
323** The peoples that eat millet include the Nation of White(-clothed) People, the Nation of the Three-Bodied, etc.
324** The Nation of the Fertile are said to be satiated by Fenghuang eggs.
325** The Nation of the Cheerful-Headed caught fish and shrimp on the shore and frequently ate white millet, lettuce, "grain planted before the previous crop has been harvested", and willow/poplar/aspen.
326* FriendToAllLivingThings: The Nation of the Fertile is, according to the ''Shanhaijing'', a place where all beasts get along.
327* GadgeteerGenius: The Nation of the Single-Limbed are said to be this, being able to make mechanisms to catch multitudes of beasts, and to build flying chariots so they can travel far with the wind.
328* GardenGarment: People of the Nation of Husbands (丈夫國/丈夫国, ''Zhàngfūguó'') wear clothes made of tree-bark.
329* InvertedTrope: People of the Nation of the Three-Bodied, much like [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Geryon]], invert the mythological convention of having a many-headed one-bodied creature/monster, and instead have three bodies and a single head.
330* {{Lilliputians}}: People of the Nation of Crossed Shins are said to be only four ''chi'' tall, which is equivalent to about 96 centimetres or 3'2".
331* NationalGeographicNudity: The Nation of the Nude People has this, except it's to Chinese taboos rather than Western ones. According to ''Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals'', when Yu the Great visited the country, he respected local tradition by taking off his clothes while within their borders, and only redressed after leaving the country.
332* NonIndicativeName: Only by the virtue of [[HaveAGayOldTime language drift]], which applies to Chinese as well. The so-called "Nation of White People" (as translated literally) actually refers to the white ''clothes'' the residents wear, not that they have white ''skin''.
333* OneGenderRace:
334** The Nation of Husbands are said to be only populated by men, and reproduce asexually by having two sons split from the backs of their ribs while the original man dies in the birthing process.
335** The Nation of Women, located in an island in the middle of the sea, is said to be only populated by women. The women there [[MysticalPregnancy become pregnant]] by either bathing in the Yellow Pool (according to Guo Pu and the ''Taiping Yulan'') or gazing into a mystical well (according to ''The Book of Later Han''). However, while boys can be born from the pregnancy, the Nation enforces {{Gendercide}} and kills off any male children when they turn three.
336* StockForeignName: Sort of. Several of the Nations have their clan names (姓, ''xìng'') recorded, implying the stock foreign names of people from these Nations are those clan names.
337** Nation of the Three-Bodied bearing the clan name Yáo (姚).
338** Nation of the Undying: Ā (阿, also transcribed as "Ah").
339** Nation of the White(-clothed) People: Xiāo (銷/销).
340* TwoFaced: The Nation of the Three-Headed have three heads, and subsequently three faces, three brains, and six eyes. This is utilized by Huangdi, who employs them to guard the Lánggān Tree with pearly jade fruit in the Kunlun Mountains, to prevent the Fenghuang from eating the jade.
341* TheUnintelligible: The Nation of the Forked/Reversed Tongue has a "reversed" tongue (where the tip is at the throat), and speak a language which only they can understand.
342* {{Utopia}}: The Nation of the Fertile is possibly a version of this, as the land is fertile (hence the name), the people feast on Fenghuang eggs and sweet rain/dew-drops, and all beasts get along. It's also said to be a place where the Luan-bird sings and the Fenghuang dances, which only really happens in Chinese mythological paradises.
343* WildHair: The Nation of the White(-clothed) People are said to wear their hair loose, unlike their "civilized" Han Chinese contemporaries.
344[[/folder]]
345
346[[folder:Yeren (野人)]]
347Literally translated as the "wild man", the Yeren is a cryptid apeman which resides in remote mountainous regions.
348----
349* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: In the modern day, they're considered to be a bit like the Chinese equivalent of Bigfoot. In particular, Hubei Province capitalizes on the creature's infamy to attract tourists to its remote villages.
350* FrazettaMan: Somewhat like a Chinese version, the Yeren is said to be fast-moving, long-haired, and strong. They live in caves in the mountains and only descend to raid villages for food or for people to wed or rape.
351[[/folder]]
352
353
354!!Villainous and Antagonistic Figures
355
356[[folder:Ao Guang (敖光)]]
357The evil Dragon King of the East Sea in Chinese belief. Was defeated by Nezha, which humbled him and made him end his villainous ways. He also appeared in different works including ''Fengshen Yanyi'' and ''Journey to the West'', in the latter being tricked by Sun Wukong.
358----
359* ButtMonkey: He was first defeated by Nezha, a ''7-year-old'' boy. Then, if ''Journey to the West'' is counted, Sun Wukong, a ''monkey'', steals a pillar from his palace.
360* HeelFaceTurn: Is said to have undergone one after being defeated by Nezha.
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Dájǐ (妲己)]]
364Dájǐ was the favorite consort of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the UsefulNotes/ShangDynasty in ancient China. She is portrayed as a malevolent fox spirit in legends as well as novels, though some Chinese historical books and records simply depict her as an exceptionally beautiful human woman (and attribute King Zhou with acts of cruelty associated with her). Her identification as a [[AsianFoxSpirit fox spirit]] seems to have originated from at least the Tang dynasty. These accounts have been popularized in works such as the ''Wu Wang Fa Zhou Pinghua'', the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', and the ''Lieguo Zhi''. She is considered a classic example of how a beautiful woman can cause the downfall of a dynasty in Chinese culture.
365----
366* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Daji was supposedly best known for her invention of a method of torture known as the Bronze Toaster (炮烙), a bronze cylinder covered with oil heated like a furnace with charcoal beneath until its sides were extremely hot. The victim was forced to walk on top of the slowly heating cylinder, and was forced to shift their feet in order to not burn. The oily surface made it difficult for the victim to maintain their balance, and if the victim fell into the charcoal below, they would be burnt to death.
367* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: {{Inverted|Trope}}. On a meta level, traditional Chinese belief attributes her malicious personality to the fall of the Shang Dynasty, and uses this to claim that all women were evil and to justify cultural [[HeManWomanHater misogyny]].
368* FoulFox: She is sometimes identified with [[AsianFoxSpirit a malicious fox spirit]], and... look at the other tropes attributed to her.
369* LoveRuinsTheRealm: It's widely believed that King Zhou's infatuation with Daji caused him to neglect state affairs and do whatever it takes to appease her, causing the kingdom to fall into ruin.
370* {{Sadist}}: She was said to have enjoyed torture and executions, allegedly laughing at them.
371* TheVamp: It's said that Daji's beauty caused King Zhou to become so infatuated with her that he started neglecting state affairs to be with her and would order embarrassing activities (e.g. nude hide-and-seek games in the Forest of Meat) and executions [[LadyMacbeth to make her amused or happy]].
372[[/folder]]
373
374[[folder:Hundun (混沌)]]
375His name translated is "muddled confusion". Hundun is both a "legendary faceless being" in Chinese mythology as well as the "primordial and central chaos". He is one of the "Four Fiends", the others being Taotie ("gluttony"), Taowu ("ignorance") and Qiongqi ("deviousness").
376----
377* EldritchAbomination: Hundun, similar to Chaos in Myth/ClassicalMythology, is a monster formed from the remnants of the proto-world that was not shaped into the ordered universe. Interpretations of what he is vary: he is sometimes an internal organ-less celestial dog, a faceless giant, a sentient force of nature, or even just a huge lump of flesh. All are Lovecraftian, but he is usually depicted as [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu quite nice]]. In one story, two Emperors, Shu and Hu, thought that since they had holes in their bodies (eyes, mouth, nostrils, etc.), Hundun should have them as well. They thus drilled those holes in Hundun, killing him in the process. In other words, Hundun was an EldritchAbomination that got [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punched out]] by overzealous public servants.
378* PrimordialChaos: One explanation for the creation of the world in Chinese mythology (yes, there are ''multiple'' creation myths) is that the universe was once a formless chaotic thing called Hundun. Two Emperors came across Hundun (somehow) and decided that Hundun should have seven holes in its body, since people have seven holes (a mouth, two nostrils, two ears, and either two eyes or the anus and the other one). They drilled the seven holes, and Hundun died, creating the universe.
379[[/folder]]
380
381[[folder:Xingtian (刑天)]]
382Chinese guardian deity who fought against the Supreme Divinity, not giving up even after the event of his decapitation. Losing the fight for supremacy, he was beheaded and his head buried in Changyang Mountain. Nevertheless, even without a head, with a shield in one hand and a battle axe in the other, he continues the fight, using his nipples as eyes and his belly-button as a mouth although they could not see. Due to symbolizing the indomitable spirit which maintains the will to resist no matter what tribulations one may undergo or what troubles one may encounter, Xingtian has been lauded in poetry and prose.
383----
384* BackFromTheDead: This god was so angry, he returned to life and resumed his fight.
385* BellyMouth: Is described to have this after losing his head in battle, more specifically on his belly-button.
386* {{Determinator}}: Xingtian was beheaded after an attempt to overthrow the Supreme Divinity. The guy still kept at it with his rebellion, using his nipples and belly-button as eyes and mouths respectively, and running around with his axe and shield as if nothing happened.
387* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It is unknown what happened to him after he resumed his battle against the Supreme Divinity.
388[[/folder]]
389
390
391!!Mortals and Specific Characters
392
393[[folder:Chang'e (嫦娥)]]
394A goddess who lives on the moon, thanks to her eating a pill of immortality meant for her husband Houyi.
395-----
396* GodOfTheMoon: She's associated with moon, to which she was lifted after drinking an immortality elixir. In the modern day, she's the namesake of the Chinese lunar exploration program.
397* MoonRabbit: One of her companions on the moon.
398* WhoWantsToLiveForever: She lives on the moon for perpetuity, overlooking humanity.
399[[/folder]]
400
401[[folder:The Cowherd (牛郎) and the Weaver Girl (織女)]]
402The main protagonists in the Chinese folktale "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl". While their story varies DependingOnTheWriter, one thing they have in common in all versions is that they are a pair of StarCrossedLovers, in [[LiteralMetaphor the most literal sense]]. Once a year, however, during the Qixi (七夕) festival on seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month, a flock of magpies form a bridge (鵲橋) that crosses the river, allowing the lovers to meet.\
403
404In Mandarin, they are Niulang and Zhinü, respectively. Variants of this story can also be found in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese folklore, and the Qixi festival celebrated in their honour is better known on this site by its Japanese counterpart, UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}}.
405----
406* MultipleChoicePast: The story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl and ''how'' they ended up in such a circumstance really depends on who you ask.
407** One of the more popular versions is that the Cowherd saw the immortal Weaver Girl and her six older sisters bathing in a river, and he [[GoneSwimmingClothesStolen stole her clothes]] in the meantime, a la ''Literature/TheSwanMaiden''. They fell in love eventually.
408** Another version from a Southern Dynasty author wrote that the Weaver Girl was the daughter of the Jade Emperor who wove heavenly clothes from the clouds, but wasn't particularly good-looking. Her father took pity on her and betrothed her to the Cowherd, but when the Weaver Girl started to abandon her duties, he was furious and separated the two lovers to the two sides of the Milky Way.
409* RuleOfSeven: The Qixi festival takes place on the seventh day of the seventh lunisolar month, and is said to be the day the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl are closest to each other such that they could meet again on the Bridge of Magpies. On top of that, in some versions, the Weaver Girl is the seventh and youngest daughter of the Jade Emperor.
410* StarCrossedLovers: Quite literally, as the two are [[{{Stellification}} represented by two stars in the sky]] and are separated by the Milky Way itself, unable to meet.
411* {{Stellification}}: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl were forbidden from seeing one another and placed into the sky as the stars Altair and Vega, respectively, with the Silver River (銀河, the Milky Way) separating them forever.
412* TextileWorkIsFeminine: The Weaver Girl, obviously. In ancient China, many women and girls, especially unmarried ones, would pray to her so they could have sharp eyes and quick hands for weaving and needlework.
413* TooUpsetToCreate: The Han dynasty poem "The Distant Cowherd Star"[[labelnote:*]]Named after its first line; Chinese title 《迢迢牽牛星》[[/labelnote]] describes the Weaver Girl to be working on her loom in the duration of the year, but "all day long, the section remained unfinished, as her tears were as numerous as raindrops".[[note]]「終日不成章,泣涕零如雨。」[[/note]]
414[[/folder]]
415
416[[folder:Houyi (后羿)]]
417Chang'e's husband. He was responsible for slaying the sun-birds that were scorching the Earth. He also accomplished many heroic tasks while in the World slaying monsters and demons that threaten humanity.
418----
419* TheExile: In some interpretations, after he had shot down nine of the Sun Crows, Emperor Di Jun stripped him of his immortality and banished him from Tian.
420* MasterArcher: Houyi was essentially a combo of Hercules and Robin Hood on steroids, po the point that he is sometimes said to be the god of archery. He was able to take out nine Suns with arrows. And, in some versions, would have taken out the tenth and final Sun if it weren't for the Emperor reminding him that we still need at least one Sun to survive.
421* MortalityEnsues: When his wife drank the Elixir of Life, he was deprived of the chance to reclaim his godhood.
422* TyrantTakesTheHelm: In some variations of the Mid-Autumn Festival story, Houyi was proclaimed a hero-king by the people after shooting down the sun-birds and became a tyrant, and Chang'e consumed the Elixir of Life so that he could not subjugate the people to his cruelty forever.
423[[/folder]]
424
425[[folder:Jingwei (精衛)]]
426The daughter of Yandi who was transformed into a bird by Nüwa. She is also considered a goddess by some. After she drowned when playing in the Eastern Sea, she metamorphosed into a bird. Jingwei is determined to fill up the sea, so she continuously carries a pebble or twig in her mouth and drops it into the Eastern Sea.
427----
428* {{Determinator}}: This is a girl whose goal is to ''render the seas shallow by filling it up with enough pebbles''. She definitely qualifies for this trope.
429* ForcedTransformation: Got turned into a bird.
430[[/folder]]
431
432[[folder:Nezha (哪吒)]]
433A Daoist deity that was born as a lump of flesh, which split open to reveal Nezha as a boy instead of an infant. He killed the third son of the Dragon King of the East Sea, who confronted Nezha and threatened to flood Chentang Pass and report Nezha to the Jade Emperor. To save his family, Nezha flayed and disemboweled himself to return his body to his parents. The Dragon King was moved by his filial piety and spared his family. Nezha was later brought back to life by his teacher, Taiyi Zhenren, who used lotus roots to construct a human body for his soul.
434----
435* ArtificialHuman: Of the OrganicTechnology variety.
436* BadassAdorable: The cutest seven-year-old un-aging BloodKnight you'll ever meet in Chinese mythology.
437* BornAsAnAdult: Not quite an adult, but he was born as a seven-year-old rather than a baby.
438* BloodKnight: Just loved to fight and kill anybody who glanced at him the wrong way.
439* EnfantTerrible: Killing Dragon Princes for perceived slights at seven years old.
440* LongestPregnancyEver: His mother was pregnant with him for three years.
441* RealMenWearPink: Usually wears a dress of lotus leaves, a red Chinese bra, and a collar of flower petals. He also fights with a ribbon called the Sky Muddling Damask.
442[[/folder]]
443
444
445!!Other Figures
446[[folder:Hua Mulan (花木蘭)]]
447Hua Mulan, a legendary or possibly fictional warrior woman from the Northern and Southern dynasties period of Chinese history, originally described in ''Literature/TheBalladOfMulan''. In the ballad, Hua Mulan, disguised as a man, takes her aged father's place in the army. Mulan fought for twelve years and gained high merit, but she refused any reward and retired to her hometown. See the Ballad's page for more details about her.
448[[/folder]]
449

Top