Píxiū

In this week's episode, we're heading over to ancient China for the incredibly lucky Píxiū! Why is this monster not able to poop? Why can you find them on the roofs of Chinese palaces? Find out this week!

Transcript

INTRO:
Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters, my name is Erin and I’ll be your host for these little snack bite size podcasts on folklore and mythical monsters from around the world. 

These podcasts focus on the actual cryptids, folklore and mythic monsters from global mythology, rather than focusing on full stories of heroes and their big adventures.

I’ll also be dropping in some references that they have to recent culture and where you can see these represented in modern day content so you can learn more, and get as obsessed as I am about these absolute legends of the mythological world.

I wish I was doing a more leap-year based monster, but you’d be surprised at the fact that there are no monsters that are linked to the leap year, even though you could argue that the leap year in itself is mythical - but I hope this one fills the gap as it is a pretty special one. 

DESCRIPTION:

So this week, where are we heading? We’re going over to the East to China and looking at a monster that is revered as a good luck charm - the Pixiu. 

The Pixiu is a dragon-lion-like creature that has the head of a Chinese dragon, the body of a Chinese lion and the legs of a Qilin, which is another mythical Chinese creature that has cute little stubby legs, with lion’s paws and claws. They are usually depicted with their mouths open, showing off their large fangs, and look very similar to the Chinese dragons you would see as puppets during the new year to represent Nian, another famous Chinese dragon.

They also had large bird-like wings with feathers, however, they were not actually able to fly but they represented that the creature had the power to fly up to the heavens either way. They have horns on their heads that are curled and a long tail with a tassel or ball on it, which is usually as long as the tail. 

They are usually either gold, bronze or silver in colour, to reflect their link to metal and wealth, however, you may sometimes see them in white, black and red to represent purity, warding off evil and love respectively. They were immensely strong creatures as well as incredibly intelligent and ferocious defenders - which leads us nicely onto what do they actually do?

The Pixiu’s job was pretty simple as they are considered the protectors of both the living and the dead but as well as this, the protectors of feng shui, which if you know anything about furnishing a home, you might know about.

This is the Chinese system of luck and is used to encourage and bring luck into the daily lives of everyone. I mention home furnishing because if you’re a Westerner, this might be the only context you’ve heard it in - and we use it in the home to bring good luck when we’re thinking about positioning furniture. But it’s more than that - in Chinese culture, feng shui is the luck of everything and is linked back to the star deities, Tai Sui, who represent the Chinese zodiac and the general foreshadowing of the year ahead based on a 12 year calendar. 

In regards to their protector role over the living and dead - they are fiercely defensive of their home, which is in any place their likeness is placed. They would guard it against demons and evil spirits as well as diseases and sickness caused by them by draining their energy and turning it into wealth. For their masters who pass, they would help them ascend into the heavens on their backs as well as keeping a patrol over the heavens to keep demons away as well as protecting their owners. 

But speaking of wealth, this is what the Pixiu are most well known for. They were considered an auspicious monster which sounds pretty regular, but there were only 5 mentioned within Chinese folklore, the Pixiu, the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Turtle and the Qilin. This means that they were linked to wealth, happiness and good luck but the Pixiu specifically was linked to luck for those who had a bad year previously.

The Pixiu comes in two varieties based on two genders, which they have separate names for. The female Pixiu is called the Bixie and the male is Tianlu - and the way to tell them apart is their antlers. The male has one, whilst the female has two. They also have different jobs to bring to the people, the Bixie was to ward off evil spirits and to assist anyone who had had especially bad luck. The Tianlu was in charge of wealth and would go out to find gold and wealth, whilst the Bixie was charged to guard it once in the home. 

Pixiu are completely benevolent creatures to people and are only bringers of good luck and defenders against the bad. One good note though is that if the owner had ever broken the law, it would no longer respect or listen to them. They eat a diet that is pretty weird, but you’ll understand a bit more when we get into their origin - it’s gold, silver and jewels, and they cannot eat anything else. They also cannot poop - meaning that all the wealth they consume is stuck within them, which makes them icons of good luck with cash money.

Lastly, there are two questions that are outstanding. One is the monster tangible or a spiritual being only? Two, are there more than two and if so, how do they come to be? The answer to one is assumed to be that they are spiritual beings that we cannot see or touch, but like the previous episode with the Dis, are watchers over us. The second, I will cover later with their origins - but we’re not sure how they reproduce, we just know that there are many, and that’s about it.

ORIGIN:

For their etymology, we technically have three words to digest this week. Pixiu in Chinese very literally just means panther, but also means fierce beast or brave warrior. Bixie means to ward off evil spirits - of course I would break them down into root words usually, but Chinese doesn’t tend to break them down this way. Tianlu doesn’t actually have an English translation that I could find, other than potentially heavenly beast - but don’t quote me on that.

Their history goes back a very long way which I say sometimes when it’s like the middle ages. But this monster goes back to 206 BC in the Han Dynasty of China - which is really, a very long time ago. This was considered the golden age of Chinese history, where there was a new coin economy built and a strong emperor to guide the country into new territories, funded by their new currency. There were huge breakthroughs in science and mathematics in the country, but still a respect and interest in the supernatural and a love for astronomy. An important note here is that because this was so long ago, it might also mean that some information was lost to us, so this might explain some missing or assumed information in this monsters’ description and origins.

The Pixiu were mentioned in the Book of Han, which is a history of China throughout the Han dynasty from 206 BC to 23 AD when Emperor Wang Mang fell. Within this book, it describes the Pixiu as the separate genders having their different antlers, as well as the ferocity of the creatures in battle. This mention made them synonymous with the Chinese military, and they used them on their flags and banners throughout the numerous territorial wars of the ancient East. 

There was also an Emperor, Wu of the Han dynasty, who declared that Pixiu were the Treasure of the Empire as they protected and obtained gold, which meant that only the royal family could have one in their home. This wasn’t abolished in law until the end of the Qing dynasty, which was in 1912, which is crazy!

I would usually bring up the monsters’ origin here, but I’ve also left out how they came to be, which I would usually discuss with their description earlier - but it all comes together so nicely that I thought I’d save it to this point. The Pixiu’s actual origin story is actually a little bit sad, they are creatures born of heaven and are a favourite of the Jade Emperor, who was the first God of Chinese mythology. Unfortunately, the Pixiu overindulged and pooped on the floor of the Jade Palace, where the Jade Emperor saw and spanked the Pixiu until its anus disappeared. Yes, you heard me right - and that is why it can no longer poop. Because of this though, they can eat as many gems and money that they can, but none of it ever leaves them, which of course gives them their wealthy reputation.

Another interpretation of their origin is that they are the ninth son of the Dragon King, who is the Chinese water and weather god. The son was spoiled and whilst playing on his father’s desk, broke a seal that represented the power of the Dragon King himself. In punishment, he turned his son into an animal being the Pixiu and cursed him to only eat things representing the power of wealth.

This monster is so prevalent and respected within Chinese culture that it lives on 2000 years later. The Pixiu is still seen as a symbol of good luck. They decorate the tombs of the Han Dynasty rulers, but they’re also really commonly found in the home or in businesses within China, Japan and Taiwan in the current day. There are some rules though that make this feng shui such as angling them away from front doors and mirrors or putting them against your bed, as all of these break the good luck rules in place. They are still traditionally made of gold, bronze or silver, but also clay or stone - depending on where they’re going as metals tarnish in the natural weather. They are also found on the roofs of houses, palaces and halls of important people within China, but with a few other animals in suits. The Pixiu sits behind the Dragon in this lineup, alongside the Phoenix, winged horse and sea horse. 

You are most likely to see Pixiu in statue form around China as they were commonly put up around the country. Most of these are in museums now, but they are beautiful to look at. They are also commonly crafted into tea pets, and it’s believed that having one in your daily brew attracts cash - and yes, I did go and buy one after this. Lastly, they’re also known for being cast into Jade, China’s iconic green precious stone for their protection and wealth bringing properties. Real Jade is very expensive though, so it also matches the energy of the Pixiu by default. 

For mythical comparisons, we’ve touched on a few here such as Nian, the New Year dragon who is similar to this in that he is mentioned within the Chinese zodiac and looks very similar to the Pixiu. Another is the Chinese dragon of course, which seems like a vague term from me - however, they were a monster without a name in their own right. They were linked to the Dragon King as well as Pixiu, and Pixiu are dragons in their own right so they actually overlap quite a bit. Lastly, the Qilin - which is a really popular Chinese mythical creature that we mentioned earlier. They are deer-like, antelope-like or even giraffe-like monsters, who are fully scaled and are a bright gold. They’re associated with royalty as they arrive to see a new, illustrious ruler take their position - but are another one of those monsters we’d link with the Pixiu.

I’ve covered Nian a long time ago, but I’m yet to cover Qilin or Dragons at all - so maybe I’ll have something in store for you soon if you want to listen to more about these gorgeous Eastern Asian monsters.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: 

Now onto modern media, there isn’t really much about this monster specifically unfortunately. So I’ve gone down the divine dragon route this week, I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.

For art, there’s not really much classic portrait art of the Pixiu other than statues that you can look at - however, I’d recommend looking at the independent art for some really beautiful pieces around them.

In movies, we have; Mulan, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, Yamato Takeru, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Excalibur, Spirited Away & Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

For TV, we have; Jackie Chan Adventures, Legend of the Dragon, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Winx Club & Dragons: Riders of Berk.

In video games, we have ones such as; Dragalia Lost, Pokemon, Tales of Berseria, Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Dark Souls, Touhou Project, Jade Empire, The Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, Shin Megami Tensei, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, Heroes of Might and Magic, Arknights, Dragon Quest, Bayonetta, Lunar, Monster Hunters, Final Fantasy, Okami, Elder Scrolls, Nexus War, Temtem, Dragon Age, Breath of Fire 4, Diablo & Bayonetta.

My book recommendation this week is The Dragon: Fear and Power by Martin Arnold, for a high-level overview of dragons. Or for more Chinese mythology and dragons, have a look at Dragons And Dynasties: An Introduction to Chinese Mythology by Yuan Ke.

DO I THINK THEY EXISTED? 

Now it’s time for, do I think they existed? 

I’m not sure about this one honestly, do I believe in dragons is one question here - which I battle with on a daily basis in all honesty in this job. It also, whilst having a descriptive physical form, does not appear to humans - therefore places it within the spiritual world, which makes things even more complicated. 

This monster really should be treated as a spirit connected to an object of its own likeness rather than a tangible creature - which unfortunately, makes it less believable to be real. However, I love that this monster is still respected within Chinese culture and that people still craft these to be in their houses or on their jewellery for good luck and wealth. 

My sister is probably the unluckiest person I know and so I am considering buying her a Pixiu bracelet - but there are also rules to wearing them because of feng shui which I think she would forget and curse herself more. This might mean that I believe in them a little bit, thinking about it.

But what do you think? Did the Pixiu have serious gastrointestinal issues all around ancient China? Let me know on Twitter!

OUTRO: 

I really like this monster, and as always, I owe a big thank you to my cousins Charlie and Xinrong for being my amazing pinyin translators and pronunciation experts. We love covering royal dragons on this show - and may there be many more.

Next week, we’re heading over to Slavic mythology to a monster that represents the home and peace within it, but you might know it from the Witcher series - make sure you keep a clean house next Thursday for the Kikimora!

Just as a pre-warning that my annual two-week March break is coming up. I’ll be off of the airwaves from the 15th March to the 4th April for my birthday and the podcast’s third anniversary. To ring in three years, we do have a special on the 14th - but I’ll keep it under wraps til next week.

For now, thank you so much for listening, it’s been an absolute pleasure. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give it a rating on the service you’re listening on - I’ve got the twitter for any questions, or suggestions on what monsters to cover next and I’d love to hear from you. The social media handles for Tiktok, Youtube, Threads and Instagram are mythmonsterspodcast, and twitter is mythmonsterspod. But all of our content can be found at mythmonsters.co.uk - you can also find us on Goodpods, Buymeacoffee and Patreon if you want to help me fund the podcast too.

Come join the fun though and share this with your pals, they might love me as much as you do.

But for now, stay spooky and I’ll see you later babes.