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Our Yaoguai Are Different

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Our Yaoguai Are Different (trope)
Yaoguai come in many forms.Clockwise from top-left

Yāoguài (妖怪) are a class of creatures in Chinese Mythology. They are anything non-human (usually animals, but can also be plants or even inanimate objects) who, through Taoist cultivation of Life Energy, have become Long-Lived, obtained human-level intelligence, and the ability to shapeshift into a human. They can also be created by someone feeding them alchemical pills. Some Yaoguai were members of the Taoist Celestial Bureaucracy until they were banished or went rogue. Although not necessary, they have likely obtained Kung-Fu Wizard abilities and an Artifact of Power or two along the way.

Although they can take on a human form or their true non-human form at will, in popular culture, they're usually portrayed as a Beast Man or if female, a Cute Monster Girl (although Yaoguai who were former divinities typically appear as Monstrous Humanoids). Characterization also varies across gender — male Yaoguai are usually more focused on brute force, while female Yaoguai are typically Shapeshifting Seducers.

In Chinese, the word yaoguai covers two distinct but related concepts:

  • 妖 (yāo) can mean "eldritch, seductive, or sinister and beguiling", or a being with such characteristics, or simply "strange, weird and supernatural".
  • 怪 (guài) means "strange or unusual" when used as an adjective, and any monster or strange and unusual creature as a standalone noun.

The concept is tied to the Xian ("仙", often translated as "Immortals"), figures in Chinese mythology who attained immortality and ascended to the celestial court through cultivation. The most famous Xian are probably the Eight Immortals, but other well-known Xian are Zhenyuan, Princess Iron Fan, Taiyi Zhenren, Shen Gongbao, and Jiang Ziya. The term 'Yaoguai' is commonly translated to English as "demon" but not all Yaoguai are evil; 'demon' in the religious, evil entity sense is usually translated into Chinese as (魔), while ghosts and undead spirits like the Chinese Vampire are more commonly referred to as guǐ (鬼). Regardless, in fiction, Yaoguai are usually portrayed as Enlightened Antagonists.

Many notable Yaoguai originate from Journey to the West. Sun Wukong the Monkey King and his companions Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing are among them (the latter two are also examples of gods demoted to Yaoguai), but others from the same novel include the Bull Demon King and his son Red Boy, the Seven Spider Spirits, the White Bone Demon (an awakened skeleton), the Black Wind Monster (a bear), Kings Gold-Horn and Silver-Horn, and the Yellow Robe Monster (the last ones also ex-divinities-turned-Yaoguai). However, famous Yaoguai also turn up in other stories: The Legend of the White Snake gives us the benevolent snake Yaoguai Bai Suzhen and her sister Xiaoqing, while Fengshen Yanyi identifies Daji, the favorite consort of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, as an Asian Fox Spirit.

Sister Trope to Yōkai, their Japanese counterpart which share the same Chinese characters as Yaoguai. The Asian Fox Spirit húli jīng is a Yaoguai of Chinese origin, but it's more well-known by the Japanese term kitsune (though this word refers to all foxes, and the mythical creature is more properly called a youko or bakegitsune). See also Spirit Cultivation Genre, in which Yaoguai are often present. Compare Our Demons Are Different, as Yaoguai are often equated with demons in the West.


Examples:

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    Asian Animation 
  • Calabash Brothers features two powerful yaoguai as the villains in the form of the Scorpion King and his wife the Snake Queen, whose true forms are self-evident from their names alone. Their minions are all yaoguai as well, such as toads and centipedes.
  • The Legend of Nezha: Two major yaoguai from Fengshen Yanyi are major characters in the series, those being the fox spirit Daji and the stone witch Shiji Niangniang, the latter of whom is elevated to the series' Big Bad.
  • Monkey King:
    • If a major character in this series isn't a deity/immortal or a monkey, chances are they're yaoguai. Of course, most of them are adapted from Journey to the West, such as Jade Rabbit (the future Moon Rabbit; also a Cute Monster Girl example), the White Deer Spirit (portrayed here as the Evil Counterpart of Sun Wukong's mentor Patriarch Bodhi), and the Demon King of Havoc (whose origins are unclear in the source material, but is depicted in the show as a large blue-furred, bear-like creature). Some go through Adaptational Heroism too, as is the case with Jade Rabbit.
    • Numerous minor yaoguai also show up too as the mooks of the Demon King of Havoc, usually fighting the monkeys in his attempts to take over Flower-Fruit Mountain. Their appearances ranging from anthropomorphic animals (as is the case with Havoc's vanguard, the Iron-Backed Wolf) to ogre/goblin-like creatures (as seen with the Bumbling Henchmen Duo of Clever Devil and Wily Worm).
  • Journey to the West (1999) adapts most of the yaoguai antagonists of the original book. However, there are some changes, such as the old human monk Elder Jinchi being reimagined as a bee yaoguai and the Bull Demon King's lesser-known brother Immortal Ruyi instead being a shoe yaoguai. Additionally, the White Bone Demon is given a trio of yaoguai minions in a snake, a toad, and an owl.

    Comic Books 
  • New Super-Man: The Wonder Woman of China, Peng Daileng, is later revealed to be a yaoguai who fell in love with a human boy and cultivated her qi to take on a human form. This also grants her incredible supernatural powers, such as enough Super-Strength to harm Kenan, who had taken on the powers of Superman, and the ability to regenerate from being cut in half. She was also known as Xiaoqing, the Green Snake from The Legend of the White Snake.

    Films — Animated 
  • Jiang Ziya: The malevolent húli jīng Nine-Tailed (based on Su Daji) is the Big Bad, while the xian Shen Gongbao is revealed to be a leopard yaoguai.
  • White Snake (2019): Being a prequel to the classical Chinese legend (with Green Snake (2021) serving as a sequel to it), it features a number of Yaoguai:
    • Blanca, Verta, Chang Pan, and the Snake Master are all members of a clan of snake Yaoguai who have cultivated supernatural powers through Taoism and can take on human form as well as a Snake People form. The Snake Master stands out for being a massive two-headed serpent in her true form.
    • Baoquing is an eight-tailed Asian Fox Spirit (húli jīng) who runs an arms dealership called the Jade Workshop. She ends up in Asuraville in Green Snake (2021), but somehow retains her powers and escapes back to the mortal world.
    • Dudou the dog is turned into a canine Yaoguai by Blanca as a prank.
    • Ah Xuan is turned into a Yaoguai by Baoquing removing Dudou's tail and attaching it to him.
    • Mr. Ox, The Heavy of Green Snake, is a minotaur-like bull Yaoguai who retains his powers due to working for the corrupt Buddhist monk Fahai.
  • Ne Zha and Ne Zha 2: Being based on Fengshen Yanyi, yaoguai (translated as "demons" in the dub and most subs) do indeed show up, with Li Jing and Lady Yin's jobs being essentially to protect Chentang Pass from them. While the first movie sees many monstrous aquatic yaoguai imprisoned underground by the Dragon Kings and later reveals Shen Gongbao to be in fact a leopard yaoguai, the sequel also features an entire tribe of marmot yaoguais, an appearance by Shiji Niangniang (see Literature), and The Reveal that the powerful immortal Wuliang is actually a peach tree yaoguai. Nezha himself arguably qualifies as one too here. Interestingly, Chinese dragons are also depicted in the films as a class of yaoguai that once helped Heaven to defeat and imprison many yaoguai before being imprisoned alongside their charges.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Painted Skin: The Villain Protagonist of the film and its sequel Painted Skin: The Resurrection is a vain húli jīng named Xiaowei, who eats human hearts to maintain her supernaturally beautiful human form but has a penchant for falling in love with human men.

    Literature 
  • Fengshen Yanyi: Several Yaoguai play roles in the plot at various points.
    • The most famous are probably the three Yaoguai, Hu Ximei, Wang Guiren, and Daji (originating from a pheasant, a lute, and a fox respectively), who were sent by the goddess Nuwa to corrupt the Shang dynasty. They become concubines to King Zhou and attempt to assassinate his rival King Wu before ultimately being captured and executed by Erlang Shen.
    • Shiji Niangniang, a powerful Yaoguai witch who was once a stone, battles Nezha and his mentor Taiyi Zhenren.
    • One part of the story involves Erlang Shen battling seven Yaoguai from Plum Mountain known as the Zhengshen. They are the snake Chang Hao, the wild boar Zhu Zizhen, the goat Yang Xian, the dog Dai Li, the ox Jin Dasheng, the centipede Wu Long, and of most significant interest, the monkey Yuan Hong, who appears to be one of the earliest examples of a Monkey King Lite.
  • Journey to the West: The Trope Codifier, in which most of the cast are Yaoguai.
    • Sanzang's companions are all Yaoguai accompanying him for a shot at redemption. Sun Wukong was born from a rock, but Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were members of the heavenly court who were banished to Earth.
    • Most antagonists throughout the novel are also Yaoguai. Since a rumor is spread amongst them that eating Tang Sanzang will grant immortality, most of the novel consists of encounters with different Yaoguai trying to capture and eat Sanzang. However, several of the antagonistic Yaoguai aren't killed and are instead taken by the gods to be reformed like most of the Pilgrims.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Gosei Sentai Dairanger”: The Gorma tribe are Yaoguai. Each has a human human for, and can transform into their monster form using yoryuku energy, a malignant counterpart to chi energy. Most Gorma have object based forms, though the higher ups are much more human looking(barring things like metal skin, a Third Eye, and in one instance, a vulcano on the top of their head).
  • Once Upon a Time (2011): In "The Outsider", in a flashback before the Dark Curse, Belle goes to an Eastern kingdom and meets Mulan, then both go to fight the Yaoguai, a giant leonine beast with a fiery mane. It is actually Prince Phillip, transformed into the creature by Maleficent, as a way to keep him away from Princess Aurora.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Feng Shui: One faction is the Ascended, made up of Transformed Animals (also available as a character type) — animals that have taken on human form. Unlike many other examples here, the Ascended most definitely do not have any additional magical abilities. Trying to use magic, or even being exposed to magic performed by others, can cause them to permanently revert to their animal form. As a result, their primary goal in the setting is preventing magic from being usable on a large scale. They are the faction most in charge in the modern-day "real world" juncture.
  • Pathfinder: While 1st Edition used "Yaoguai" as name for mutant Mix-and-Match Critters created by evil wizardry, proper Yaoguai are introduced as a potential player ancestry in 2nd Edition's Tian Xia Character Guide. They are objects or animals who have achieved a sapient human-like form through magic and cultivation (or more rarely, escaped/banished celestials), possessing magical abilities and millennia-long lifespans.

    Video Games 
  • Amazing Cultivation Simulator: Awakened animals (created or bought by the player or occurring by random chance) can be further Awakened into a Yaoguai and join the player's sect. They can change from a human form with minor animal features, a Beast Man appearance, or a fully animal appearance.
  • Black Myth: Wukong: Being a sequel to Journey to the West, not only does the player play as a yaoguai monkey called the Destined One — as well as Sun Wukong himself in the prologue, most of the enemies are yaoguai, including several directly adapted from the source material, such as the Yellow Wind Sage (a rat yaoguainote ), Yellowbrow (a rogue ex-servant of Maitreya Buddha), and the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master (a centipede).
  • Downplayed in the post-apocalyptic atompunk Fallout franchise, where the hostile Yaoguai are really mutated descendants of the American black bear (and typically spelled "yao guai"); their name was given to them by Chinese internment camp survivors likely in reference to the mythical monsters.
  • Jade Empire is set in a country heavily based on China and contains several races of supernatural monsters (called "Demons" rather than "Yaoguai") that take the form of humanoid animals. Specific species include the Toad Demon, Horse Demon, Rat Demon, Elephant Demon, Fox Demon, Bull Demon and Rhino Demon.
  • In the xianxia mobile game OVERMORTAL, yaoguai exist as the "monster" race, humanoids with animal features. Compared to humans, they're more physically powerful and immortal, but due to relying on brute force are usually less crafty. Their blood is desired by certain cultivators. In the Spiritual World, they're also shown to be able to interbreed with humans, which created the "rakshasa" race (which are humanoid with features that are monstrous, but not exactly mappable to any animal).
  • In Sleeping Dogs (2012)'s Nightmare at North Point story, Wei Shen encounters the Yaoguai, demons who are physically capable of hurting Wei and can even counter and block his attacks.
  • Titan Quest: A demonic bull called Yaoguai acts as a Boss Fight in the Far East chapter, blocking the hero's path as they try to cross Mount Qiyun and enter the Jade Palace. He uses fire magic to attack the hero and can summon shadow demons to assist him.

    Western Animation 
  • Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai: Odd-Odd is a shapeshifter demon disguised as a train marshal named 'Yao'. His powers and appearance are heavily inspired by Beijing opera performers, whereas his alias as 'Yao' hints at his true yaōguài status.
  • Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld: While the show is mostly set in Texas, the majority of the supernatural creatures Jentry encounters are yaoguai and gods from Chinese folklore and mythology — including a jiangshi, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, a huli jing, and a Painted Skin.
  • Monkie Kid adapts many of the ones who show up in Journey to the West, although they are referred to as "demons" in the English version of the show. Most of the popular and iconic ones like the Bull Demon King (or rather Demon Bull King here) and the White Bone Demon (renamed Lady Bone Demon) show up. In one interesting case though, Season 5 equates one JTTW antagonist, the Nine-Headed Prince (a multi-headed avian monstrosity turned yaoguai who became the son-in-law to a rogue dragon king), with a much older mythological entity known as Xiangliu, a human-faced hydra-like creature that served the ancient water deity Gonggong.
  • The Monkey King: Sun Wukong the Monkey King is the protagonist, and embarks on a yaoguai (translated as "demon")-slaying spree in order to get the attention of the Celestial Court, earning the enmity of the Dragon King for derailing his plot to flood the surface.

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