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The wordmogwai is thetransliteration of theCantonese word魔鬼 (Jyutping:mo1 gwai2;Standard Mandarin:魔鬼;pinyin:móguǐ) meaning 'monster', 'evil spirit', 'devil' or 'demon'. The termmo derives from theSanskritmāra (मार), meaning 'evil beings' (literally 'death'). Examples include theyecha夜叉 (yaksha) and theluocha罗刹 (raksasha), both derived ultimately from Indian lore through the influence of Buddhism.
Mogui魔鬼 refers to demons in the religious sense (魔鬼: 宗教中指引诱人犯罪的恶鬼).[1] It is therefore used to refer to demons in the sense of both Buddhist and Christian scripture, and to truly evil spiritual entities.
While魔 (mo),妖 (yao),鬼 (gui),怪 (guai) are used loosely and interchangeably to refer to malevolent supernatural beings in literature, it is also clear that the characters have different specific connotations, as follows:
Examples of Chinese demons include theyaksha (夜叉) and theraksasha (罗刹), amongst others. Both theyaksha andraksasha are derived from Indian folklore, and in the Chinese version, are violent and ferocious beings with sadistic tendencies.
Bloodthirsty malevolent demons with ugly appearances derived from Indian legend and entering China through the influence of Buddhism. They are described as evil man-eaters of large appearance and stature, and capable of swift and terrifying flight.
In some texts, they are described as jailers in hell tasked with punishing criminals, or as guardians of scripture upon conversion to Buddhism.
They feature in Pu Song Ling's tale "The Raksha Country and the Sea Market"[5] as hideous beings that possess standards of beauty antithetical to that of the Chinese world, and whose society the protagonist has to cope with.
The Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit wordyaksha. Demons from Indian folklore that entered into Chinese mythology through the influence of Buddhism. They appear in the Chinesegods and demons fiction andrecords of the strange genres of literature. These include the 16th-century classic "Investiture of the Gods"[6] and "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio".[7] Todayyecha (夜叉 is commonly employed as a metaphor to describe anyone who is both ferocious and unpleasant.
There are two categories ofyaksha夜叉 – those that fly through the air, and those that travel through the earth.
Air-traversingyaksha (空行夜叉) are described as flying through the night with a pair of wings and radiating a strange glowing darkness. They are variously said to have red, blue or yellow complexions and animal heads. They take pleasure in afflicting human beings.
Earth-traversingyaksha (地行夜叉) are described as having flaming eyebrows, being several meters in height, and having a strange half-moon formation in between their eyes.
According to Chinese tradition, mogwai are certain demons which often inflict harm on humans. They are said to reproduce sexually duringmating seasons triggered by the coming of rain. Supposedly, they take care to breed at these times because rain signifies rich and full times ahead.[8]
The termmo derives from theSanskritmāra (मार), meaning 'evil beings' (literally 'death'). InHinduism and Buddhism, Mara determines fates of death and desire that tether people to an unending cycle of reincarnation and suffering. He leads people to sin, misdeeds, and self-destruction.[9] Meanwhile,gwai does not necessarily mean 'evil' or demonic spirits. Classically, it simply means deceased spirits or souls of the dead. Nevertheless, in modern Mandarin, it has evolved to refer usually to the dead spirits or ghosts of non-family members that may take vengeance on living humans who caused them pain when they were still living. It is common for the living to redress their sins by sacrificing money togwai by burning(usually fake) paper banknotes so thatgwai can have funds to use in the afterlife.