Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yao1 guai0) or yaomo (妖魔 yao1 mo2) or yaojing (妖精 yao1 jing0) is a Chinese term that generally means "demon". Yaoguai are mostly malevolent animal spirits that have acquired magical powers through the practice of Taoism. The evil ones are usually referred to guai or mo in Chinese. Their greatest goal is achieving immortality and thus deification. Not all yaojing are actually demons; some others are of quite unusual origins. In the case of Bai Gujing, e.g. it was a skeleton that became such a demon. Many yaojing are foxes, or according to the Journey to the West pets of the deities. There are also Yaoguai Kings () that command a number of lessor demon minions. In Chinese folklore the Chinese hell (Feng Du) is a place that is populated by various demonic spawns. Most of these demons are influenced by the Indian raksasa or yaksa and bear therefore some similarity with the Japanese oni.
In Japanese, yaoguai are known as youkai (actually, the term is a loanword from Chinese).
Famous Yaoguai of Chinese mythology:
Bai Gujing- A skeleton demon.
Niu Mo Wang- A bull demon king.
Lady White Snake
Note: Sun Wukong uses this term often to insult his (demonic) adversaries.
Guo Shi decides to step in, Yes Yaoguai is as evil as it comes, and should not be trusted, but I can sense that he will keep up his end of the bargain.
Meanwhile, in the dark world of Feng Du, the place of punishment for wayward souls, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, the hideous subordinates of Yaoguai and the guardians of hell, escort the captured Princess Li Wei to her containment cell.
Yaoguai is more amused than anything by the Princesss response, Oh I quiver at the thought that your friend will cause my fall.
Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yāo guaì) or yaomo (妖魔 yāo mó) or yaojing (妖精 yāo jīng) is a Chinese term that generally means "demon".
In Chinese folklore, the Chinese hell (Di Yu) is a place that is populated by various demonic spawns.
In Japanese, yaoguai are known as yōkai (actually, the term is a loanword from Chinese; the native Japanese equivalent, sometimes written with the same kanji, is mononoke).
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