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The ‘four evils’ are still out there

5-6 minutes ⋮ 4/1/2017

APART from protectors and god-like creatures, there are

also evil-beings in Chinese myths. Si Xiong, or the Four
Evils, are one of the most famous.

The Four Evils are Tao Tie , Hun Dun 饕餮

, Qiong Qi 混沌 穷
奇 and Tao Wu 梼杌
. Each holds evil characteristics such
as encouraging greed, distorting truth, and making wars.
The evil beasts’ names are still often referred to as
metaphors out of superstition.

Some legends suggest the four evils were born from four
evil and rebellious tribe leaders after they died in ancient
times: San Miao 三苗
, Huan Dou , Gong Gong and 驩兜 共⼯
鲧
Gun . They ruled in the reign of the Shun Emperor , 舜帝
who was defeated and exiled in the end. But there are
many other stories of the origins of the beasts.

Tao Tie 饕餮
Tao Tie is the symbol of greed.  

As described in Shan Hai Jing (the Classic of ⼭海经

Mountains and Seas), Tao Tie features a sheep’s body,
tiger’s teeth and human face and hands. Its eyes are
hidden under his armpits. It has baby’s voice, yet it eats
humans.
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And in folk stories, Tao Tie eats everything. The monster is

so greedy that it even eats its own body. Therefore, the
patterns of Tao Tie are often found in ancient cooking
vessels, yet only with its head. Tao Tie Shengyan , 饕餮盛宴
or a feast for Tao Tie, is often used in Chinese to indicate
an extraordinarily grand banquet with delicious food.

The monster in Zhang Yimou’s recent movie “The Great

Wall” was created based on the legendary Tao Tie.

There are also legends suggesting that when the Yellow

Emperor beheaded Chi You, his head fell on the earth and
became Tao Tie.

Hun Dun 混沌
There are different versions of Hun Dun.

The version of Hun Dun in Shen Yi Jing (the 神异经

Classic of Gods and Strange Animals) in the Han Dynasty
(206 BC-AD220) is the most common.

In this version, Hun Dun is a monster that cannot

distinguish right from wrong.

Hun Dun shapes like a huge dog. It has bear’s palm yet no
claws; it has eyes yet cannot see; it can walk yet cannot
move; it has ears but cannot hear.

It has belly yet with no organs such as a heart, liver,

spleen, lungs and kidney; it has intestines yet cannot twist.

Anything it eats passes through the intestines directly.

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It is capable of human emotions, yet it cannot distinguish

right from wrong. When encountering noble men, Hun Dun
will have conflicts with them; but meeting evil people, it will
follow their instructions.

Shan Hai Jing, on the other hand, describes it as a god

bird colored red and shaped like a bag.

It has six feet, four wings yet no face. It lives in the

Tianshan Mountain. It sings and dances.

As recorded in Zhuang Zi (a book by Taoist庄⼦

philosopher Zhuang Zhou and a student), Hun Dun was
the emperor of central China, with no apertures like eyes,
nostrils, mouth or ears. He treated the emperors of South
Sea and North Sea well at his place. Intending to repay his
hospitality, the other two emperors offered to dig seven
apertures for Hun Dun. They dug one aperture a day. Yet
when all the seven apertures were done, Hun Dun died.

Qiong Qi 穷奇
As recorded in Shan Hai Jing, Qiong Qi looks like a tiger
with wings, and always eats humans from the head. It can
speak human language. It is good at confusing people’s
minds and making wars.

Shen Yi Jing elaborated its character more in details.

When hearing people quarrel, it will eat the reasonable
one. When hearing about people who are loyal and faithful,
it will bite their noses off. But when hearing people being
unreasonable and atrocious, it will offer them his food.

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However, there are also versions describing it as a rare

animal that eat Gu 蛊
(legendary venomous insects) that
harm people. 

Qiong Qi is often used as a metaphor for those who act in

bad faith and defame those who show loyalty. As written in
Shi Ji (The Historical Record), there was a bad offspring of
emperor Shaohao who behaved badly and resented loyal
people. He was called Qiong Qi.

Tao Wu 梼杌
According to Shen Yi Jing, Tao Wu is a tiger-like beast with
a tiger’s feet, a man’s face and a pig’s teeth. Its hair is 2-3
meters long and it has a tail more than 315 meters long. It
lives in the remote regions in the west.

Tao Wu is often used to label a man who is fierce and

stubborn. As recorded in Zuo Zhuan , a commentary 左传
on the Spring and Autumn Annals, there was a bad
offspring of Zhuan Xu 颛顼
(one of the five great ancient
emperors) who could not be taught. He was called Tao Wu.

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