This is a page from a Chinese children’s book. It references Chinese fairy tales, Ghost Month
This is a page from a Chinese children’s book. It references Chinese fairy tales, Ghost Month stories, afterlife stories and paintings, the classical painting/story/statue Zhong Kui Catching a Ghost, and other sources. The illustrations on this page are glossed as * Gluttonous Ghost (好吃鬼/Hào chī guǐ) * Shameless Ghost (赖皮鬼/Làipí guǐ) * Miserly Ghost (小气鬼/Xiǎoqì guǐ) * Mischief Ghost (捣蛋鬼/Dǎodàn guǐ) * Filth Ghost (邋遢鬼/Lātà guǐ) * Long-tongue Ghost (长舌鬼/Chángshé guǐ) * Peeping Ghost (偷看鬼/Tōu kàn guǐ) * Shy Ghost (害羞鬼/Hàixiū guǐ) It’s interesting to me how often ghost lore is used to embody morality. Take a look at that list: each ghost contains a kind of chiding moral, “don’t be miserly, don’t be gluttonous.” (“Long-tongue ghost” might sound like a simply physical description, but it’s also a term for people who gossip.) Confucius’ writing explicitly stated that realistic illustration was better than imaginative illustration, so older Chinese art forms rarely exhibit the wild creations seen in so many other portions of the world. Exceptions include deity illustrations and depictions of hell. The depictions of hell often show ghosts like these, with morals written into their names and exaggerated into their appearances. Art historians attribute this to patronage. The artists (usually monks in monasteries supported by wealthy patrons) depicted what their patrons told them to depict. If a wealthy man wanted to teach his children not to gossip, he might commission a painting showing the torments of “long-tongue ghosts” in hell, wherein green-skinned demons stretch the spirit’s tongue out and drive nails into it. “See, kids? Don’t gossip or you’ll become a long-tongue ghost.” -- source link
#ghosts#chinese folklore#chinese religion#ghost stories