# Legendary creatures - [[Dragons]] --- ## European ### Dragons - *See:* [[Dragons--European]] ### Sirens [[“... Columbus’ letters to Luis de Santangel in 1493 in which the explorer reports that on the islands of the Caribs ‘he saw three sirens, although they were not as beautiful as he had been led to believe’.”]][^1] --- ## Chinese ### *Chimei* [[“Chimei is a dragon-like mountain demon. He usually lives in dangerous wilderness and torments those who have been banished there. In art, he is represented both as a hideous humanoid monster and as a hornless dragon.”]][^2] ### Dragons - *See:* [[Dragons--Chinese]] ### *Hulijung* (狐狸精) — ‘Chinese fox’ [[“... the Chinese fox’s popular traits are revealed, including the shapeshifter, the illusionist and the charmer; it can speak, reincarnate, change size, disappear and reappear.”| “The Chinese fox is one of the most popular characters in Ji Yun’s homosexual zhiguai tales, whereby many of the Chinese fox’s popular traits are revealed, including the shapeshifter, the illusionist and the charmer; it can speak, reincarnate, change size, disappear and reappear. The Chinese fox is also found in familiar human settings such as the home, but also in settings which are more acquainted to its own survival, such as graveyards or forests.”]][^3] ### *Pixiu* - *See:* [[Pixiu]] ### *Qilin* > “The Four Symbols are at the core of ancient Chinese knowledge about the organization of the world and an art of harmonizing oneself with the environment—known as feng shui. In many classifications, they are guarded by a fifth symbol or element—the yellow chimerical creature called Qilin …”[^4] ### *Yāoshòu* 妖兽 [[The Beasts in Chinese cultivation novels can be called a variety of different names - Monstrous Beasts, Profound Beasts, Spirit Beasts, Divine Beasts, and so on. Magical Beasts and Demonic Beasts are the most common.|“The Beasts are referred to differently from novel to novel. They are sometimes called Monstrous Beasts, Profound Beasts, Spirit Beasts, Divine Beasts, and so on. But perhaps the two most common varieties are Magical Beasts (魔兽 móshòu) and Demonic Beasts (妖兽 yāoshòu).”]][^5] [^1]: Consuelo Rivera-Fuentes, ‘[[Rivera-Fuentes. ‘Gender and Hybridity’, 2000.|Gender and Hybridity: The Significance of Human/Animal Characters in Magic Realist Fiction]]’, *Animal Issues*, vol. 4, no. 1 (2000), p. 37. [^2]: Lucas Russo, *Uncovering Chinese Mythology* (Independently Published, 2023), Chapter 4. [^3]: Thomas William Whyke, ‘[[Whyke. ‘Male Homosexuality and Foxes in Ji Yun’s Zhiguai Collection Tales of the Thatched Cottage’, 2020.|Male homosexuality and foxes in Ji Yun’s zhiguai collection 'Tales of the Thatched Cottage']]’, *Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences*, vol. 13 (2020), p. 358. [^4]: Lucas Russo, *Uncovering Chinese Mythology* (Independently published, 2023), ‘Chapter 4.’ [^5]: ‘“Cores” in Chinese Cultivation Novels’, *[['Immortal Mountain' (Website)|Immortal Mountain]]*, 20 November 2016, https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/cores-in-chinese-cultivation-novels/.