Terminology Monkeys in Chinese culture

1 terminology

1.1 nao
1.2 yu
1.3 hou , muhou
1.4 yuan , naoyuan
1.5 rong
1.6 jue , juefu
1.7 ju
1.8 xingxing
1.9 feifei
1.10 wei
1.11 you
1.12 du
1.13 guoran
1.14 mengsong

terminology

the chinese language has numerous words meaning simian; monkey; ape . diachronically changed meanings in reference different simians. instance, chinese xingxing 猩猩 named mythical creature human face , pig body , , became modern name orangutan .

within classification of chinese characters, monkey; ape words – exceptions of nao 夒 , yu 禺 monkey pictographs – written radical-phonetic compound characters. these characters combine radical or classifier indicates semantic field, dog/quadruped radical 犭 simians, , phonetic element suggests pronunciation. instance, animal classifier graphic component in hou 猴 (with hou 侯 marquis phonetic) macaque; monkey , yuan 猿 (with yuan 袁 long robe ) gibbon; monkey .

note following discussion of monkey; ape terminology cite 3 fundamental sources. oldest extant chinese dictionary, (c. 3rd century bce) erya (chapter 18, 釋獸 explaining wild animals ) glosses 7 names monkeys , monkey-like creatures in 寓屬 monkey/wild animal taxonomy. first chinese character dictionary, (121 ce) shuowen jiezi defines many names of simians, under (犬部 dog/quadruped radical) in chapter 11. classic chinese pharmacopoeia, li shizhen s (1597) bencao gangmu (獸之四 animals no. 4 chapter) lists medical uses 5 yu 寓 monkeys , 3 kuai 怪 supernatural beings . latter wangliang 魍魎 demon eats livers of corpses , penghou 彭侯 tree spirit resembles black tailless dog , , feng 封 edible monster resembles two-eyed lump of flesh .

li shizhen distinguishes 11 varieties of monkeys:

a small 1 short tail called hou ([猴] monkey). if looks monkey has prominent moustache, called ju [狙]. if looks monkey bigger, jue [貜]. monkey big, red eyes , long tail, called yu [禺]. monkey small has long tail , upright nose called [狖]. monkey similar bigger called guoran [果然]. monkey similar smaller called mengsong [蒙頌]. monkey similar jumps lot called canhu [獑猢]. monkey has long arms called yuan ([猿] ape). monkey similar yuan has golden tail called rong [狨]. monkey similar yuan bigger, , can eat apes , monkeys, called du [獨]. (s.v. jue, tr. luo 2003: 4124, cf. read 1931: no. 400b)

nao

oracle script nao 夒 monkey



seal script nao 夒 monkey



seal script kui 夔 demon

nao 夒 first monkey term recorded in historical corpus of written chinese, , appeared in (14th-11th centuries bce) shang dynasty oracle bone inscriptions. oracle pictograph of monkey showed head, arms, legs, , short tail; graphically simplified in (3rd century bce) qin dynasty seal script. compare seal character kui 夔 legendary demon human face , body of monkey/dragon , resembles seal character nao addition of appears long hair on head.

this graphically complex character nao 夒 monkey had variant nao 獿 (with quadruped radical , nao phonetic), , simpler replacement nao 猱 monkey (same radical , rou 柔 phonetic), common in modern usage.

the etymology of nao < *nû 夒 or 猱 monkey (schuessler 2007:397) elusive , , may connected proto-mon–khmer *knuuy macaque; monkey or proto-tibeto-burman *mruk; compare *ŋoh 禺 next.

the first chinese character dictionary, (121 ce) shuowen jiezi defines nao 夒 greedy animal, said muhou monkey resembling person (貪獸也一曰母猴似人);, see muhou below.

the poet li bai alludes nao (猱) populating taihang mountains, in north of china, near capital city chang an, in poem 白馬篇 : should duly noted literary source contextually suggests temporal location of west han era (sun 1982:82-85).

yu

yu 禺 monkey appeared on (11th-3rd centuries bce) zhou dynasty chinese ritual bronzes pictograph showing head, arms, , tail. yu forenoon, 9 11 second of 5 daily divisions (更) in traditional chinese calendar. banyu 番禺 district in guangzhou . in modern chinese scientific usage, yu 禺 refers central , south american spider monkey .

the etymology of yu < *ŋoh 禺 monkey (schuessler 2007:589-590) links kukish *ŋa:w ape > lushai ŋau grey monkey ; compare *nû 夒 above.

the shuowen jiezi defines yu 禺 kind of muhou monkey head resembling gui ghost (母猴屬頭似鬼). compare above definition of nao muhou monkey resembling person.

yu 禺 has graphic variant yu 寓 (with roof radical ) reside; imply . erya (18) lists monkey definitions under yushu 寓屬 wild animal category . guo pu s commentary explains yu 寓 inclusively means shou 獸 wild animals , , van gulik (1967:38) says means primates in general .

the shanhaijing (tr. birrell 1999:3) uses yu 禺 describe xingxing, there animal on mountain looks long-tailed ape, has white ears. crouches moves along , runs human. name live-lively. if eat it, ll runner .

the shanhaijing records mythical yugu 禺谷 monkey valley , place sun sets, suggests monkey kind of guardian of approaches nether world (van gulik 1967:38). kuafu 禺谷 boast father raced sun , ran setting sun , died of thirst on way (tr. birrell 1999:123). yugu written yu 虞 predict; deceive or ou 偶 human image; mate .

hou , muhou

hou 猴 monkey; macaque common name simians. instance, houzi 猴子 means monkey or clever/glib person . muhou 母猴 macaque; rhesus monkey compounds mu mother , hou monkey , , can mean female monkey in modern usage. van gulik (1967:35) says muhou phonetic rendering of non-chinese term because mu- occurs in 4 variants: 母 , 沐 wash 1 s hair in zhou texts, , 米 rice or 獼 in han texts. in modern chinese usage, mihou 獼猴 means macaque; rhesus monkey . etymology of hou < old chinese *gô 猴 monkey (schuessler 2007:279) derives sino-tibetan *ʔ-ko. first syllable in muhou < *môʔ-gô 母猴 or muhou < *môk-gô 沐猴 macaque may perhaps pre-initial supported lolo-burmese mjo kœ < *mjok monkey , might have been source of proto-tocharian *moko.

lu ji, southern state of wu, noted muhou chu word (tr. van gulik 1967:35): nao macaque [mihou], called people of chu [muhou]. after macaque has grown old, becomes que [貜]. macaques long arms called gibbons (yuan). gibbons white waist called [chan 獑]. van gulik explains legendary que grey whiskers of mature macaques, , associates chan rhesus macaque, or huchan 胡獑, found in present day yunnan.

the shuowen jiezi defines hou nao, , defines nao 夒, yu 禺, jue 玃, , wei 蜼 muhou.

the bencao gangmu lists mihou synonyms of: muhou 沐猴, weihou 為猴, husun 胡孫, wangsun 王孫, maliu 馬留, , ju 狙; , li shizhen explains names.

the book baihu tongyi ban gu: hou means wait [hou 候, n.b., hou 猴 not occur in received text]. when sees man put food in trap, stay in higher position , @ food long time. animal @ waiting. macaque likes wash face rubbing, called mu [沐 washing ]. character later distorted mu ([母] meaning mother ), further original meaning. book shuowen jiezi (book of philology xu shen): character hou looks muhou (monkey), not female monkey. macaque looks person hu region (the north , west of china non-han ethnic groups lived in ancient times), called husun [胡孫]. in book zhuang zi, called ju [狙]. people raise macaques in stables. in way, horses not attacked disease. colloquially called maliu ([馬留] meaning maintaining horses ) in hu region (the north , west of china non-han ethnic groups lived in ancient times). in sanskrit books called mosizha [摩斯咤] (transliteration [of markaţa]). (tr. luo 2003:4124, cf. van gulik 1967:35)

bernard e. read (1931: no. 400) notes, menstrual discharge of monkey [猴經] said give immunity horse against infectious disease , , suggests sanskrit name not remote genus name macacus . husun macaque; monkey written 猢猻, punned in surname of sun wukong 孫悟空 descendent/monkey awakened emptiness . maliu 馬留 (lit. horse keep ) compares cantonese malɐu monkey word (schuessler 2007:580).

yuan , naoyuan

yuan 猿 ape; monkey used in chinese terms such yuanren 猿人 ape-man; hominidae , beijing yuanren 北京猿人 peking man .

the etymology of yuan < *wan 猿 monkey (schuessler 2007:593-59) linked proto-tibeto-burman *(b)woy or proto-mon–khmer *swaaʔ monkey .

yuanhou 猿猴 apes , monkeys , according van gulik (1967:33), meant gibbons , macaques in last few centuries, has been used in chinese literature comprehensive term monkeys . japanese language word enkō 猿猴 likewise means monkey in general.

naoyuan 猱蝯 compounds nao 夒 variant 猱 yuan 蝯 (combining insect radical 虫 , yuan 爰 phonetic). yuan has graphic variants of 猨 , 猿. erya defines naoyuan @ climbing (猱蝯善援), based upon pun between yuan 蝯 monkey , yuan 援 pull up; climb (both characters written same phonetic element).

nao 猱 occurs once in classic of poetry, not teach monkey climb trees (毋教猱升木). lu ji s 3rd-century commentary says nao macaque [mihou], people of chu call muhou (see above). in disagreement, van gulik (1967:32) gives reasons why nao 猱 means gibbon not macaque . first, erya stresses climbing simian s main characteristic. second, zhou dynasty texts record nao typical tree-ape . third, numerous literary sources use naoyuan or yuannao binomial compound.

van gulik distinguishes nao 猱 gibbon homonym nao 獶 monkey (with 憂 phonetic replacing uncommon 夒 in nao 獿)

the term nao 獿 occurs in record of music chapter of book of rites criticizing vulgar pantomimes (tr. van gulik 1967:32), actors take part therein, , dwarfs resemble nao, men , women mix, , difference between parents , children not observed ; here nao means macaque, familiar through popular monkey-shows.

van gulik (1967:33) suggests chinese yuan gibbon loanword language of chu, southernmost state of zhou realm. qu yuan s (c. 3rd-century) chuci uses term yuanyou 猿狖 3 times (in 9 pieces); instance (tr. hawkes 1985:160), amid deep woods there, in twilight gloom, haunts monkeys live. text uses yuan 猿 once (nine songs), yuan 蝯 once (in 9 laments), , houyuan 猴猿 once (in 9 longings). if yuanyou qu yuan s (or chuci author s) rendering of chu word gibbon , naoyuan can understood compound of native chinese word nao monkey in general , sinified loanword yuan gibbon ; , gradually, nao 猱 came mean gibbon , whereas nao 獶 remained reserved monkeys. 狖 (van gulik 1967:31) zhou synonym gibbon .

during first centuries of our era, binoms naoyuan or yuannao superseded words gibbon single term yuan 猨, written classifier quadruped instead of insect 虫; , 1 prefers phonetic 袁 爰 (rarely 員). character yuan 猿 has remained exclusive term hylobatidae long chinese in general familiar gibbon. however, when in course of centuries more , more mountainous regions brought under cultivation, , deforestation increased accordingly, habitat of gibbon shrank less accessible mountain forests in south , south-west, , chinese had few opportunities seeing actual specimens. until 14th century a.d. 1 may assume confidence when chinese writer employs word yuan 猿, means indeed gibbon. thereafter, however, majority of chinese writers knowing gibbon hearsay, began confuse him macaque or other cynopithecoids – confusion has lasted till present day. (1967:33)

the bencao gangmu (tr. van gulik 1967:33) notes that, gibbon s meat may taken medicine against hemorrhoids, may cured using gibbon s skin seat-cover. fat used ointment said wonderful cure itching sores.

rong

rong 狨 long-haired monkey golden fur highly prized . read (1931:401) suggests lar gibbon, hylobates entelloides , , luo (2003: 4125) identifies golden snub-nosed monkey rhinopitheeus roxellana. in addition meaning golden snub-nosed monkey , van gulik (1967:36) , notes in modern chinese zoological terminology, rong denotes callitrichidae (or hapalidae) family including marmosets , tamarins.

the bencao gangmu entry rong 狨 explains synonym nao 猱 signifies monkey s rou 柔 soft; supple hair.

the hair of golden monkey long , soft. called rong (meaning fine hair ). nao character meaning soft. explanation says animal found in western rong region [sichuan], named. there kind of long-hair dog called nao. ... book tan yuan [談苑] yang yi (楊億): golden monkey found in deep mountains in sichuan , shaanxi. looks ape. has long tail of golden color. colloquially called jinsirong [金絲狨] (meaning golden thread monkey ). quick @ climbing trees. loves tail dearly. when shot poisonous arrow, bite off own tail when poisoned. during song dynasty (960-1279), officials of administration , military of third rank , above allowed use seats , bedding made of golden monkey hide. (tr. luo 2003: 4126, cf. read 1931: no. 401)

this entry has 2 subheadings: yuan 猨 or changbeihou 長臂猴 gibbon, hylobates agilis , du 獨 (below).

the ape @ climbing trees. found in deep mountains in chuan , guang regions. looks monkey, has long arms. animal can practice [daoist] qi (vital energy), lives long life. has 1 arm stretching 1 side other. not correct. arm bone can made flute sounds clear , resonant. apes come in different colors: blue-green, white, black, yellow , crimson. kind , quiet animal, , likes eat fruits. lives in forests , can jump on distance of several dozen chi. when falls , drops onto ground, may suffer excessive diarrhea , die. treatment drinking of juice of fuzi/radix aconiti lateralis/daughter root of common monkshood. apes live in groups. male cries lot. makes 3 cries consecutively. cry sounds miserable , penetrating. book guihai zhi [桂海志] fan chengda: there 3 varieties of apes: yellow ones golden thread; black ones jade faces; , black ones black faces. pure black 1 male, , golden thread 1 female. male 1 shouts , female not. book rixun ji [日詢記] wang ji: people in guang region when ape born, black , male, when gets old, turns yellow , genitals become ulcerous, , turns female. mates black one. after several hundred years, yellow ape evolve white one. (tr. luo 2003: 4126, cf. read 1931 no. 401a)

jue , juefu

juefu 貜父 large monkey compounds jue ape , fu father . character jue 貜 combines cat/beast radical 豸 , jue 矍 startled phonetic (with 2 目 eyes ); compare graphic variants of 玃 , 蠼. based upon phonetic element, erya (tr. van gulik 1967:25) glosses: juefu, @ looking. (貜父善顧). juefu called jueyuan 玃猿, known kakuen in japanese mythology.

the fulu 附錄 appendix bencao gangmu entry mihou macaque adds jue 玃 species of large ape or hoolock, found in western china, , said 6 feet high, denotes great gibbon, hylobates , northern gray gibbon, hylobates muelleri funereus (viz., müller s bornean gibbon) (read 1931: no. 400a); , ju 豦 (graphically tiger , pig ) wild boar; yellow , black monkey or jufu 舉父 lift/raise father , lion-tailed macaque, macaca/inuus silenus (read 1931: no. 400b). jue entry says:

it kind of old monkey. lives in mountains in western sichuan. looks monkey. bigger , gray , black. can walk human. robs things humans, , looks around surrounding time time. there male ones , no female ones, called juefu (father monkey) or jiajue. may kidnap girl , marry have children. book shenyi jing: there kind of animal called zhou in west big donkey looks monkey. can climb trees. there female ones , no males. block road in mountains , kidnap men happen pass on road. men forced mate then. way animal gets offspring. kind of jue, female one. (tr. luo 2003: 4124-4125, cf. van gulik 1967:26)

this all-female zhou monkey written non-unicode character, combining 豸 radical , zhou 周 phonetic.

li shizhen describes ju(fu):

it found in mountains in jianping. size of dog looks monkey. black , yellow, , covered big beard , bristles. may throw stones strike humans. book xishan jing: there kind of animal in chongwu mountain. looks yu has long arms. @ throwing stones. called jufu. (tr. luo 2003: 4125, cf. read 1931: no. 400b)

ju

ju 狙 meant macaque; monkey , came mean spy; watch (e.g., juji 狙擊 attack ambush). shuowen jiezi defines ju kind of [jue] monkey, said mean dog briefly bites person (玃屬一曰狙犬也暫齧人者).

the (c. 4th-3rd centuries bce) zhuangzi oldest chinese classic use ju. instance, has 2 versions of quote laozi (called lao dan 老聃, lit. old helixless-ears ) using term yuanzu 猿狙 gibbon , macaque; monkey exemplify not daoist sage.

compared sages, said old longears clerk @ labors or craftsman tied work, toiling body , vexing mind. furthermore, patterned pelt of tiger , leopard bring forth hunter, nimbleness of gibbon , monkey bring forth trainer leash. can such these compared enlightened kings? (7, tr. mair 1994:68, cf. 12 1994:109)

the shanhaijing mentions 2 mythological animals named ju. first, xieju 猲狙 (with xie or short-muzzled dog ):

there animal on mountain looks wolf, has scarlet head , rat eyes. makes noise piglet. name snubnose-dogwolf. eats humans. (4, tr. birrell 1999:62-63)

second, zhuru 狙如 (with ru ):

there animal on mountain looks white-eared rat; has white ears , white jaws. name monkey-like. whenever appears, kingdom have great war. (5, tr. birrell 1999:96)

xingxing

a shōjō illustration 1712 wakan sansai zue

xingxing 猩猩 or shengsheng 狌狌 monkey; orangutan reduplicates xing, graphically combines quadruped radical xing 星 star phonetic, or sheng 生 life in variant xing or sheng 狌. name used foreign simians in modern terminology, xingxing means orangutan , heixingxing hei- 黑 black means chimpanzee , , daxingxing da- 黑 large gorilla .

the erya says, [xingxing] small, , likes cry. (猩猩小而好啼). guo pu s commentary (tr. van gulik 1967:26) notes, shanhaijing says: has human face , body of pig, , able speak. @ present found in [jiaoji] , [fengxi] district (i.e. north indo-china). [xingxing] resembles [huan 獾] (badger) or small pig. call resembles crying of small child. fengxi 封谿 corresponds modern bắc ninh province in vietnam.

the huainanzi (tr. major et al. 2010:508) says, orangutan knows past not know future; male goose knows future not know past. ; gao s commentary (tr. van gulik 1967:26) says, [xingxing] has human face body of beast, , colour yellow. fond of wine.

the bencao gangmu entry xingxing or shengsheng, read (1931: no. 403) identifies orangutan, simia satyrus , records,

li shizhen: orangutan can talk , knows future. xingxing [猩猩] means [xingxing 惺惺] intelligent . orangutan recorded in books er ya , yi zhou shu several dozen times. following explanation summary: found in mountain valleys in ailaoyi area , fengxi county in jiaozhi. looks dog or macaque. yellow hair resembles of ape, , white ears resemble of pig. face looks human, , legs similar of man. has long hair , good-looking face , head. cries in same way baby cries, or dog barks. flock , move covertly. ruan qian: local people in fengxi catch animal in following way: place wine , straw sandals on roadside. orangutans come spot , call out names of ancestors of people placed things. leave temporarily , come shortly afterwards. drink wine , try sandals on. while orangutans enjoying themselves, people catch them , keep them in cages. when 1 of them killed, fattest 1 chosen. weeps sadly. people in xihu area use blood dye kind of woolen fabric, maintain bright color long time. after puncture made in orangutan let out blood, person flog animal , ask number of beatings. flogging stop after 1 dou of blood has been collected. book li ji (record of rites) said orangutan speak. book guang zhi guo yigong said orangutan not speak. book shanhai jing said orangutan speak. [li shizhen comments]: orangutan kind of animal looks human being. looks ape or monkey , can speak simple words parrot. may not same ruan qian said. book er ya yi luo yuan: in ancient books, orangutan described similar pig, dog or monkey. recorded animal looks baboon. looks naked bare-foot woman long hair hanging head. not seem have knees, , travel in group. when encounter human beings, cover bodies hands. people kind of savage human. according luo yuan said, seems such creature yenü (meaning wild girl ) or yepo (meaning wild woman ). same? (tr. luo 2003: 4128, cf. read 1931: no. 403)

the subentry yenü 野女 wild women or 野婆 wild wife says,

the book bowu zhi [博物志] tang meng: in rinan area there kind of creature called yenü (meaning wild girl ) travels in group. no male ones found. white , crystal-like, wearing no clothes. book qidong yeyu zhou mi [周密]: yepo (meaning wild woman ) found in nandanzhou. has yellow hair shaped coils. naked , wears no shoes. looks old woman. of them female , there no male ones. climb , down mountain fast golden monkeys. under waists pieces of leather covering bodies. when encounter man, carry him away , force him mate. reported once such creature killed strong man. protected waist when being killed. after dissecting animal, piece of seal chip found similar piece of gray jade inscriptions on it. li shizhen: according ruan qian , luo yuan said above, seems yenü orangutan. seal chip found in animal, similar case testes of male mouse said have seal characters [fuzhuan 符篆 symbolic seal script ] on them, , case under wing of bird seal of mirror has been found. such things still unclear us. (tr. luo 2003:4128, cf. read 1931: no. 403a)

the bright scarlet dye known xingxingxue 猩猩血 gibbon s blood not used chinese, observed in imported western textiles. although source tradition of bloody dye remains untraced, edward h. schafer (1963:210) notes western analogue in st. john s blood , variety of red dye kermes, derives insect kermes. tang dynasty chancellor pei yan wrote,

the hu [ barbarians ] of western countries take blood dyeing woolen rugs; color clean , not turn black. when prick blood, if ask, how give me? [xingxing] say, 2 pints enough? in order add amount, thrash whip before asking , go along increase, can obtain gallon. (quan tangwen 全唐文, tr. schafer 1963:209)

edward h. schafer quotes tang story.

a number of beasts captured , put in pen, cooked magistrate of tonkinese town. picked fattest of number , thrust weeping forth, await magistrate s pleasure in covered cage: commandant asked thing was, , [xingxing] spoke within cage, , said, servant , jug of wine! commandant laughed, , cherished it. of course clever, winebibbing animal became treasured pet. (1963:209)

the chinese belief gibbons enjoyed drinking wine has parallels in classical antiquity, monkeys reputed overfond of wine, aristotle, aelian, , pliny observed, , drunkenness made them easy capture. chinese stories xingxing liking wine appealed japanese. in japanese mythology, shōjō 猩猩 god of wine red face , long, red hair, drunk , dancing merrily. compare drunken monkey hypothesis human attraction ethanol may have genetic basis.

feifei

feifei 狒狒 monkey; baboon reduplicates fei, written dog/quadruped radical 犭with fu 弗 phonetic. van gulik (1967:29) says chinese zoologists have adopted feifei convenient modern rendering of baboon .

the erya glosses, feifei resembles person; has long hair hanging down on back; runs , devours people. (狒狒如人被髮迅走食人). guo pu s commentary says,

this [xiaoyang 梟羊] owl-goat . [shanhaijing] says: shape has human face, long lips; body black, hair hanging down heels. when meeting people laughs. animal occurs in n[orth] indo-china, [guangxi], , [guangdong]. large ones on ten feet tall. locally animal called [shandu 山都]. (tr. van gulik 1967:28)

xiaoyang 梟羊 variant of mythic xiaoyang 梟楊 owl-poplar , david hawkes (1985:268) describes anthropoid monster upper lip covers face when laughs. laughter sinister, said, being indication eat human flesh.

the shuowen jiezi (liu 2003: 4129) writes feifei 𥝋𥝋 obsolete pictograph, , xu shen says: people in north call tulou [土螻 earth cricket ]. people call renxiong [人熊 man bear ].

the (c. 9th century) miscellaneous morsels youyang describes feifei.

if 1 drinks blood 1 can see ghosts. strength equals ten-thousand catties. when laughs, curls upper lip covers forehead. has shape of macaque , capable of human speech, sounds twitter of birds. can foretell births , deaths. blood can used purple dye , hair making wigs. old tradition says feet reversed. hunters has no knees, when sleeping has lean against support. in liu song dynasty period (420 479 a.d.), guangxi sent pair of [feifei] tribute. (tr. van gulik 1967:28)

regarding copied fanzhong 反踵 reversed feet description, van gulik reasons copyist misread ji 及 extend; down in guo pu s 及踵 hair hanging down heels comment fan 反 reverse; opposite . further (1967:29) suggests human face, long lips, , long red hair description of feifei apply orangutan.

the bencao gangmu entry feifei, identified golden snub-nosed monkey, rhinopithecus roxellanae , baboon papio hamadryas (liu 2003: 4129), lists other synonyms of xiaoyang 梟羊 owl goat , yeren 野人 wild man; savage (see yeren), , shandu 山都 mountain capital .

chen cangqi: baboon found in yi areas in southwest. book er ya: baboon in shape of human being disheveled hair. runs fast , may eat humans. book shanhai jing: xiaoyang has human-like face, long lips , black body. covered hair. has reversed heels. laughs when sees human being, , when laughs upper lip may cover eyes. guo pu: in jiao , guang regions , in mountains in nankangjun, such creatures can found. big 1 may tall 10 chi. colloquially called shandu. in 1 of years of xiaojian reign of song dynasty (960-1279), people indigenous areas contributed pair of baboons emperor, 1 male , 1 female. emperor asked ding luan, representative tribe, animal. ding luan answered: face of animal looks human being. covered red hair macaque. has tail. can talk human being, sounds chirping of bird. can predict life , death. strong , can carry heavy things. has reversed heels , seems have no knees. when sleeps, leans against something. when catches human being, first laughs , eats him. hunter can catch animal using trick. puts 1 arm through bamboo tube lure animal. when animal laughs heartily, person uses nail try pin lip forehead. animal run around wildly , die shortly afterwards. has long hair, can used make wigs. blood can added in dyeing of boots or silk fabrics. if 1 drinks blood, 1 able see ghosts. after explanation, emperor ordered painter portrait of animal. li shizhen: book fangyu zhi: baboon can found in mountains in western sichuan , chuzhou. called renxiong. people catch it, , eat paws , peel off hide. in mountains of shaxian county in fujian, animal found. more 10 chi tall , laughs when encounters human being. called shandaren, yeren, or shanxiao. book nankang ji deng deming: shandu looks wild man kunlun mountain. body covered hair. when encounters human being, closes eyes , opens mouth, seeming laugh. turns stones in mountain streams find crabs food. (tr. luo 2003: 4129, cf. read 1931: no. 404)

the bencao gangmu supplement lists 4 other monkey-like creatures under feifei.

shandu 山都, read identifies chacma baboon, cynocephalus porcarius :

li shizhen: book shuyi ji [述異記] ren fang: there kind of spirit in nankang called shandu. looks human being , on 2 chi tall. black red eyes , yellow hair. makes nest in tree in deep mountains. nest looks bird nest on 3 chi tall. these nests bright , lustrous inside, , light , quite empty. 2 such nests placed on mattress made of bird feathers. upper 1 male , lower 1 female. shandu may appear in different forms , can become invisible. difficult find such creature. similar muke , shanxiao. (tr. luo 2003: 4130, read 1931: no 404a)

shanhui 山𤟤:

li shizhen: book beishan jing: shanhui looks dog has human-like face. @ throwing stones. when encounters human being, laughs. runs fast wind. when such creature sighted, there strong winds on country. (tr. luo 2003: 4130, cf. read 1931: no. 404b)

the shanhaijing context describes shanxiao 山魈 or shanhui 山𤟤.

there animal on mountain looks dog has human face. @ throwing. when sees human being, laughs. name mountain-monkey. moves wind. whenever appears, there typhoons on under sky. (yufa mountain 獄法之山, tr. birrell 1999:41)

muke 木客 tree guest :

the book nankang ji: found in mountains in south. head , face similar of human being, , talks human. paws have sharp claws. live among steep cliffs , bury dead human beings. can change things human beings, not show in front of human beings. there kind of ghost market in south such trades take place. there creature called mukeniao (a bird), recorded in category of fowls. (tr. luo 2003: 4130, cf. read 1931: no. 404c)

shanxiao 山 [non-unicode character 犭radical , zao 喿 phonetic]: 1 footed mythological monster. numerous beings described in [shanhaijing]. says people cannot see therefore seems utter nonsense write it. [sic] (tr. read 1931: no. 404d) see shanxiao 山魈.

wei

wei 蜼 monkey written character combines insect radical 虫 zhui 隹 phonetic. etymology of wei < *wih or *ruiʔ (< *r-wiʔ) 蜼 kind of monkey-like animal (schuessler 2007:513) hypothetically connected palaung-wa *rəyol white-handed gibbon or -i in wei diminutive suffix added < *wu 猶 monkey word.

the erya glosses, wei has upturned nose , long tail. @ climbing mountain peaks. (蜼卬鼻而長尾時善乘領). guo pu (tr. van gulik 1967:29) says, wei resembles macaque larger. colour yellowish-black, tail several feet long, resembling otter s tail, forked @ tip. nostrils tilted upward; when rains wei hangs tree , covers nostrils tail, or 2 fingers. people east of (yangtse) river catch , raise it. swift , strong. based on description, van gulik identifies wei golden snub-nosed monkey (rhinopithecus roxellana), smaller monkey long tail, , pronounced upturned nose; has blue-black face, , long, fluffy golden fur.

you

you 猶 monkey has uncertain etymology , meaning. schuessler (2007:580) notes < *ju < proto-chinese *wu 猶 kind of monkey has comparative linguistics similarities proto-tibeto-burman *myuk or *mruk > burmese myok , mru yuk monkey . < *ju phonologically resembles 2 old chinese monkey words: yu < *ŋoh 禺 , hou < *gô 猴. character猶, quadruped radical , qiu 酋 phonetic, denoted simian, became common chinese phonetic loan character still; yet .

the erya glosses muntjac , @ climbing trees (如麂善登木). hao yixing 郝懿行 s 19th-century sub-commentary says, wild animal kind of monkey, shaped muntjac, resembles hornless deer feet dog. called youhu 猶猢 , identified husun 猢猻.

the shuowen jiezi defines kind of jue large monkey , said longxi [modern tianshui region] word puppy (玃屬一曰隴西謂犬子為猷).

du

du 獨 (lit. alone ) named larger monkey , interpreted monkey solitary habits , based on word s literal meaning (van gulik 1967:36). read (1931: no. 401b) identifies species of baboon or mandrill .

the bencao gangmu rong 狨 entry notes du 獨.

du looks ape bigger. stays alone , gives single cry @ time. eats apes , monkeys. there idiom saying when du cries, apes disperse. term dufu (獨夫, lone man, or dictator. ) has origin in animal. animal huangyao [黄腰 yellow waist ]. see explanations in class of hu (tiger). (tr. luo 2003: 4126, cf. read 1931: no. 401b)

the bencao gangmu entry hu 虎 tiger lists huangyao among animals strong enough kill , eat tigers.

guoran

guoran 果然 (lit. indeed; ) or 猓然 described timid monkey long tail . van gulik (1967:36) tentatively associates guoran surili monkeys of genus presbytis found in southeast asia.

the bencao gangmu entry guoran 果然, read identifies proboscis monkey, nasalis larvatus , lists synonyms of yu 禺, 狖, lei or wei 蜼, , xianhou 仙猴 transcendent monkey .

guo pu: guoran animal cries in way if calling own name. luo yuan (羅願): if 1 of them caught, whole group of them cry , attack. when being killed, others stay by. called guoran. term means assured, meaning when 1 endangered, can assured others come rescue. big 1 called ran, or yu. small 1 called or lei. people in south call xianhou [仙猴]. chen cangqi [陳藏器]: book nanzhou yiwu zhi: in area of jiaozhou there kind of animal called guoran. bigger ape. body no more 3 chi long, tail may rise above head when erect. nostrils open upward. @ times of rain, hang on tree tail stuffed nostrils. hair long, soft, fine , slippery. white black stripes, resembling colored feathers of gray duck. hide , fur can made warm fur coats , quilts. book er ya recorded animal upward nostrils , long tail, animal. li shizhen: guoran animal kind. found in mountains in south-west. live in trees. guoran looks ape. has white face black cheeks. has big moustache , multicolored hair. tail long , forked @ tip. when rains, guoran stuffs forked tips of tail nostrils. travel together, aged ones in front , young ones @ back. when find food, each gives chance others eat first. live harmoniously , love each other dearly. when 1 endangered, others come rescue. liu zongyuan [柳子] noted, animal benevolent, polite, filial , kindhearted. in ancient times, animal painted image of politeness, filial piety , wisdom. however, animal suspicious. when see man coming climb tree , change positions many times. run wildly, breaking heads or legs. why people if person suspicious, can compared animal. (tr. luo 2003: 4127, cf. read 1931: no. 402)

this guoran heading has 2 subheadings.

mengsong 蒙頌 or menggui 蒙貴 (see below).

chanhu 獑猢, shuowen writes rat radical 鼠 zhanhu shu 斬𪕮鼠, described li shizhen

it kind of guoran. black white stripe on waist belt. hands covered long white hair. held in manner if clutching piece of board. book shudi zhi [蜀地志]: canhu looks monkey. moves fast , stays in trees time, jumping 1 tree bird. (tr. luo 2003: 4127, cf. read 1931: no. 402b)

mengsong

mengsong 蒙頌 or menggui 蒙貴 (lit. cover praise or cover expensive ) dark monkey, skillful rat-catcher obscure ancient name. read (1931: no. 402a) suggests mengsong mongoose, herpestidae mungo .

the erya succinctly defines mengsong shaped [nao] monkey (蒙頌猱狀). since erya dictionary, glosses words chinese classics, has oldest textual usage of mengsong, name presumably comes lost pre-qin classic. guo pu s commentary gives synonym menggui , says (tr. read 1931: no. 402a), animal small [wei] proboscis monkey, purple black in color, yunnan (交趾 annam ). reared rat catchers better cats. guo says these monkeys came present-day central vietnam, jiuzhen 九真 , rinan 日南, modern khánh hòa province , nghệ province.

the tang author duan chengshi s (853) miscellaneous morsels youyang says, cats named menggui or wuyuan 烏員 [lit. crow member ].

the bencao gangmu subsumes mengsong under guoran monkey entry (tr. luo 2003: 4127): mengsong called menggui. small guoran. purple , black, found in jiaozhi. raised in houses. catches mice better cat or leopard.