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| Wangliang | |||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 魍魎 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 魍魉 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 망량 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 魍魎 | ||||||||||||||||
| Hiragana | もうりょう | ||||||||||||||||
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InChinese folklore, awangliang (Chinese:魍魎;pinyin:wǎngliǎng orChinese:罔兩) is a type ofmalevolent spirit.[a] Interpretations of thewangliang include a wilderness spirit, similar to thekui, a water spirit akin to theChinese dragon, a fever demon like theyu (魊; "a poisonous three-legged turtle"), a graveyard ghost also calledwangxiang (罔象) orfangliang (方良), and a man-eating demon described as resembling a 3-year-old child with brown skin, red eyes, long ears, and beautiful hair.
In modern Chinese usage,wangliang is usually written魍魎 withradical-phonetic characters, combining the "ghost radical"鬼 (typically used to write words concerning ghosts, demons, etc.) with the phonetic elementswang (罔) andliang (兩)) (lit. "deceive" and "two", respectively). InWarring States period (475–221 BC) usage,wangliang was alsophonetically transcribed using the character pronunciationswang (罔) andliang (兩), and written as蝄蜽 with the "animal radical"虫 (used to write names of insects, dragons, etc.) orwangliang (罔閬)) usingliang (閬); "dry moat") with the "gate radical"門 (typically used in architectural terminology). The earliest recorded usages ofwangliang in theChinese classics are:魍魎 in the (c. 5th–4th century BC)Guoyu (罔兩) in the (c. 389 BCE)Zuozhuan (罔閬) in the (c. 91 BC)Shiji, and蝄蜽 in the (121 AD)Shuowen jiezi (or possibly theKongzi Jiayu of uncertain date).
Whileliang (魎) only occurs as abound morpheme inwangliang,wang appears in other expressions, such aswangmei (魍魅; "evil spirits").Wǎngliǎng ("demons and monsters") frequently occurs in the synonym-compoundchīmèiwǎngliǎng (魑魅魍魎; "demons; monsters"). Since commentators differentiate betweenchimei ("demons of the mountains and forests") andwangliang ("demons of the rivers and marshes"),chimeiwangliang can mean either "demons; monsters; evil spirits" in general or "mountain demons and water demons" separately. For example,James Legge'sZuozhuan translation syllabically splitschimeiwangliang into four types of demons: "the injurious things, and the hill-sprites, monstrous things, and water-sprites".[1]
Chinese scholars have identifiedwangxiang (罔象) andfangliang (方良) as probable synonyms ofwangliang <Old Chinese*maŋʔp.raŋʔ魍魎 (citingBaxter and Sagart's 2014 reconstructions).Wangxiang <*maŋʔs.[d]aŋʔ罔象 means "water demon," and the reversexiangwang <*s.[d]aŋʔmaŋʔ象罔 means "a water ghost" in theZhuangzi (which useswangliang <*maŋʔp.raŋʔ罔兩 for the allegorical character Penumbra, see below). TheGuoyu distinguisheswangliang (罔兩) as "a tree and rock demon" andwangxiang (罔象) as "a water demon" (see below).Fangliang <*paŋ[r]aŋ方良 names a "graveyard demon," identified as thewangliang <*maŋʔp.raŋʔ罔兩, that is exorcized in theZhouli (below).
A simple explanation for these phonological data and the evolving identifications of demon names is that they were dialectical variations or corruptions of each other.[2] William G. Boltz[3] offers a more sophisticated interpretation: these were not merely confusions between similar, but independent, names, but actually all variants of one and the same underlying designation: an initial consonantal cluster**BLjang ~**BZjang, meaning "see". CitingBernhard Karlgren's reconstructions of Old Chinese,[4] Boltz presentsmjwang-ljang罔兩 <**BLjang,pjwang-ljang方良 <**Ljang, andmjwang-dzjang罔象 <**BZjang. Furthermore, if these names derived from a common protoform**BLjang or**BZjang meaning "see," it implies that the spirits were not so much "demons" as "specters" (from Latinspectrum, meaning "appearance; apparition") or "visions."
Another proposed etymology forxiangwang <s.[d]aŋʔmaŋʔ象罔 is theAustro-Tai roots[u][y]aŋ meaning "spirit; god".[5][6]
The semantics ofwangliang罔兩 or魍魎 are complicated, as evident in these translation equivalents ofwangliang andwanggxiang罔象 in major Chinese-English dictionaries:
Wangliang first appears in the Chinese classics around the 4th century BCE and was used in a variety of, sometimes contradictory, meanings. While the dates of some early texts are uncertain, the following examples are roughly arranged chronologically.
TheGuoyu "Discourses of the States" (5th–4th century BCE) quotesConfucius usingwangliang (魍魎) andwangxiang (罔象) to explain ancient demon names to Ji Huanzi (季桓子) (d. 492 BCE) ofLu.
Ji Huanzi (季桓子), a grandee of the state of Lu, caused a well to be dug, when they fetched up something like an earthen pot with a goat in it. He had [Zhong Ni] (Confucius) interrogated about it, in these words: "I dug a well, and got a dog; tell me what this is." On which the Sage answered: "According to what I have learned, it must be a goat; for I have heard that apparitions between trees and rocks are calledKui (夔)) andwangliang (魍魎), while those in the water arelong (龍; "dragons"), andwangxiang (罔象), and those in the ground are calledfenyang (羵羊). (魯語下)[13]
Thismushi (木石) literally means "trees and rocks" and figuratively refers to "inanimate beings; emotionlessness; indifference."Wei Zhao's commentary mentions that thewangxiang (罔象)) supposedly eats humans and is also called themuzhong (木腫; "tree/wood swelling"). TheShiji version of this story,[14] set in 507 BCE during the reign ofDuke Ding of Jin, writeswangliang (罔閬) with閬 ("dry moat") andfenyang as墳羊 ("grave sheep"), using墳墳 ("grave; tomb") instead of墳羵羊 ("spirit sheep") (cf.Huannanzi).
TheZuozhuan (late 4th century BCE) commentary on theChunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals, c. 6th–5th centuries BCE) contains one of the earliest recorded uses, if not the earliest, ofchimeiwangliang (螭魅罔兩). In this context, it describes howYu the Great, the legendary founder of theXia dynasty, ordered the casting of theNine Tripod Cauldrons to familiarize people with all the dangerous demons and monsters found in China'sNine Provinces.
In the past when the Xia dynasty still possessed virtue, the distant lands presented images of their strange creaturesshenjian (神姦; "spirit rape") and the heads of the nine provinces contributed bronze so that vessels were cast which illustrated these creatures. Every kind of strange creature was completely depicted in order that the common people would know the gods and the demons. Thus, when people went to the rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests, they did not encounter these adverse beings nor did the Chimei-Hobgoblins in the hills and the Wangliang-Goblins in the waters accost them. As a result, harmony was maintained between those above and those dwelling on Earth below while everywhere, the people received the protection of Heaven.[15]
The "Seven Remonstrances" section (6th remonstrance,《哀命》)[16] of theChuci (c. 3rd–2nd century BCE, with some later additions) poetically useswangliang (罔兩) to mean "feeling absentminded and baseless," according toWang Yi's commentary. The context describes a drowning suicide in a river.
My fainting soul shrank back, oppressed; And as I lay, mouth full of water, deep below the surface, The light of the sun seemed dim and very far above me. Mourning for its body, dissolved now by decay; My unhoused spirit drifted, disconsolate [罔兩].[17]
TheZhuangzi (c. 3rd–2nd centuries BCE), a Daoist text, useswangliang (罔兩) twice to name the allegorical character Penumbra,wangxiang (罔象) to mean "a water ghost," andxiangwang (象罔) for the character Amorphous.
Two chapters of theZhuangzi recount similar versions of a dialogue betweenWangliang (罔兩), or Penumbra, andJing (景; "bright; shadow"). In modern usage, "penumbra" is translated asbanying (半影; "half shadow").
Penumbra inquired of Shadow, saying, "One moment you move and the next moment you stand still; one moment you're seated and the next moment you get up. Why are you so lacking in constancy?" Shadow said, "Must I depend on something else to be what I am? If so, must what I depend upon in turn depend upon something else to be what it is? Must I depend upon the scales of a snake's belly or the forewings of a cicada? How can I tell why I am what I am? How can I tell why I 'm not what I'm not?" (2)[18]
Wangxiang refers to a water demon named Nonimagoes. WhenDuke Huan of Qi (r. 685–643 BCE) was disturbed by seeing a ghost in a marsh, his chancellorGuan Zhong consulted a scholar fromQi named Master Leisurely Ramble (皇子告敖) about the various types of ghosts.
In pits there are pacers [履]; around stoves there are tufties [髻]. Fulgurlings [雷霆] frequent dust piles inside the door; croakers {{interp|倍阿 and twoads [鮭蠪] hop about in low-lying places to the northeast; spillsuns [泆陽] frequent low-lying places to the northwest. In water there are nonimagoes [罔象]; on hills there are scrabblers [峷]; on mountains there are unipedes [夔]; in the wilds there are will-o'-the-wisps [彷徨]; and in marshes there are bendcrooks [委蛇]. (19)[19]
Xiangwang is the name of an allegorical character who discovers thexuanzhu (玄珠) lost by the legendaryYellow Emperor.
The Yellow Emperor was wandering north of Redwater when he ascended the heights of K'unlun and gazed toward the south. As he was returning home, he lost his pearl of mystery. Knowledge [知] was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it. Spidersight [離朱] was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it. Trenchancy [喫詬] was sent to search for the pearl, but he couldn't find it, whereupon Amorphous [象罔] was sent and he found it. "Extraordinary!" said the Yellow Emperor. "In the end, it was Amorphous who was able to find it." (12)[19]
This allegory about the Yellow Emperor is part of the "knowledge story cycle" in whichZhuangzi illustrates the Daoist philosophy of anti-epistemology, emphasizing the value of not knowing.[20]
TheZhouli (Rites of the Zhou Dynasty, 1st century BCE – 2nd century CE) records that during a royal funeral, theFangxiangshi (方相氏; "exorcist") would leap into the grave to drive away any corpse-eatingfangliang (方良), whichZheng Xuan's commentary identifies as thewangxiang (罔象).
It is incumbent on the Rescuer of the Country to cover himself with a bear's skin, to mask himself with four eyes of yellow metal, to put on a black coat and a red skirt, and thus, lance in hand and brandishing a shield, to perform, at the head of a hundred followers, a purification in every season of the year, which means the finding out of (haunted) dwellings and driving away contagious diseases. At royal funerals he walks ahead of the coffin and, arriving at the grave, he leaps into the pit to beat the four corners with his lance, in order to drive away the fang-liang spectres.[21]
Li Shizhen'sBencao Gangmu (Compendium ofMateria Medica, 1578) includes the following under the Wangliang entry:[22] "Fangliang mentioned here is actuallyWangliang .Wangliang loved to eat the livers of the dead, so people had to drive it away from tombs. It was afraid of tigers and arborvitae trees. That is why people placed stone tigers and planted arborvitae trees in graveyards."[23]
TheHuainanzi (139 BCE) useswangliang (魍魎) to mean "mindless; zombielike" andwangxiang (罔象) to refer to "a water monster." The termwangliang appears in a description of people's mentality during the mythological golden age ofFuxi andNüwa.
Their motions were calm and unhurried; their gaze was tranquil and uncurious. In their ignorance, they all got what they needed to know. Aimlessly drifting, they did not know what they were looking for; zombielike, they did not know where they were going.[24]
Major[25] explains thatwangliang (魍魎) was "a kind of corpse monster, said to feed on the brains of the buried dead." The term wangliang appears in a context with Fenyang, "a sheep-like earth deity" (cf.Guoyu above), and two mythical birds.
[When] water gives birth to waterbugs or clams, or mountains give birth to gold and jade, people do not find it strange. ... But when mountains give offXiaoyang (梟陽), water gives birth toWangxiang, wood gives birth toBifang (畢方), and wells give birth toFenyang (墳羊), people find it strange.[26]
Wang Chong'sLunheng (80 CE)[27] quotes theLiji (c. 2nd–1st century BCE), though not found in the received text, stating that one of the mythological emperorZhuanxu's sons became awangliang (魍魎)).
[Zhuanxu] had three sons living who, when they died, became the ghosts of epidemics. One living in the water of the [Yangzi], became the Ghost of Fever, the second in the [Luo] was a Water Spirit, the third, dwelling in the corners of palaces and houses, and in damp storerooms, would frighten children.[28]
Wolfram Eberhard notes that the Luo River (洛水) (cf. the modern Luo rivers, inHenan andShaanxi) was supposedly located inYunnan, and associateswangliang (魍魎) with the mythologicalyu (魊; "a three-legged tortoise that causes malaria").[29]
Xu Shen'sShuowen Jiezi (121 CE) defineswangliang (魍魎):[30] "It is a spectral creature of mountains and rivers. The King of Huainan says, 'The appearance of thewangliang is like that of a three-year-old child, with a red-black color, red eyes, long ears, and beautiful hair.'" The receivedHuainanzi text does not contain this royal quote.
Gan Bao'sSoushenji ("Records of Searching for Spirits," c. 350 CE)[2] similarly quotes theXia Dingji (夏鼎記): "A [wangxiang] looks like a three-year-old child, has red eyes, a black color, big ears, and long arms with red claws. Even when fettered with ropes, it can find its [human] food."
Ge Hong'sBaopuzi (c. 320) mentionswangliang (魍魎) twice. One context lists the demon among the dangers facing foolish people who walk in mountain valleys.
Or they may be devoured by a tiger or a wolf; slain by awang-liang demon (in the form of a brown child with red eyes, long ears, and a fine head of hair); or become hungry and remain without a method for dispensing with starchy foods; or become cold and lack a method for warming themselves. (6)[31]
This translation includes a summarized description from theShuowen Jiezi. In the other context, Ge Hong quotes oral instructions from his master, Zheng Yin (鄭隱) (c. 215–c. 302), about preservingzhenyi (真一; "Truth-Unity").
Unity is not hard to know; persistence is the difficulty. Guard it without loss, and you will never know exhaustion. On land, it routs evil animals; on water, dispels crocodiles and dragons. No fear of demons, nor of poisonous insects. Ghost will not dare approach, nor blades strike. (18)[32]
TheShuyiji (述異記; "Records of Strange Things"), compiled by Ren Fang (任昉) (460–508), contains a story about finding afangxiang (方相; "demon that eats the brains of the dead"), also calledfushu (弗述; "not state") orao (媪; "old woman"). TheBencao Gangmu quotes the story and records the medicinal use of the brain of the brain-eatingfangxiang.
The bookShuyi Ji: In the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) once an animal was caught by a hunter inChencang (陳倉). It looked like a cross between a pig and a sheep. The hunter did not know what it was. At this time two young boys appeared. When asked, the boys said that it was calledFushu orAo. It ate the brains of the dead in tombs. When a twig of arborvitae was inserted into its head, it would die. Although such things are not related to medicine, they concern the dead. So they are also recorded here for reference. Such an animal is called Fangxiang. If it has four eyes it is calledQi. Such things are all devils. In ancient times people made statues of human beings to represent such ghosts. It was recorded that Mr.Fei Zhangfang (費長房) once made medicinal pills of李娥;Li E that contained the brain ofFangxiang as an ingredient. This prescription has been lost.[22]
Footnotes