[ **up: [[Daoism]] | [[Philosophy, Chinese|Chinese philosophy]]** ] --- # Hun 魂 and po 魄 > *Hun* and *po* are types of souls in Chinese philosophy and traditional religion. Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a *hun* spiritual, ethereal, [[Yin and yang (Chinese philosophy)|yang]] soul which leaves the body after death, and also a *po* corporeal, substantive, [[Yin and yang (Chinese philosophy)|yin]] soul which remains with the corpse of the deceased.[^1] ## Number of souls > Some controversy exists over the number of souls in a person.[^2] One tradition within [[Daoism]] proposes a “soul structure of sanhunqipo (三魂七魄), i.e., “three *hun* and seven *po*”.[^2] --- ## Hun 魂 > The “soul” 魂 (hun) is the yang part which forms a person’s thoughts and intellect. It detaches from the body after death.[^3] > When a person dies, their soul, the 魂 (hun), leaves the body and returns to the heavens \[…][^4] --- ## Po 魄 > The “spirit” 魄 (po) is the yin part of a person’s soul that can be considered the “incorporeal body” and constitutes to a person’s senses and physical form.[^5] > When a person dies, their soul, \[…] their spirit, the 魄 (po) returns to the earth.[^5] [^1]: ‘Hun and po’, *Wikipedia*, updated 23 September 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_and_po. [^2]: ‘Hun and po’, *Wikipedia*, updated 23 September 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_and_po. [^3]: Pot Fish Chili, *[[Pot Fish Chili. 'I Became a God in a Horror Game', 2020.|I Became a God in a Horror Game]]*, trans. 19 Dollar Company, 2025, chapter 352, https://19dollarcompany.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/ghg-chp-352/. [^4]: Pot Fish Chili, *[[Pot Fish Chili. 'I Became a God in a Horror Game', 2020.|I Became a God in a Horror Game]]*, trans. 19 Dollar Company, 2025, chapter 352, https://19dollarcompany.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/ghg-chp-352/. [^5]: Pot Fish Chili, *[[Pot Fish Chili. 'I Became a God in a Horror Game', 2020.|I Became a God in a Horror Game]]*, trans. 19 Dollar Company, 2025, chapter 352, https://19dollarcompany.wordpress.com/2025/02/11/ghg-chp-352/.