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| | Origin: Asia | |
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Lucia Callistan Admin
Posts : 25 Join date : 2010-12-27 Age : 30 Location : In your closet with a tazer.
| Subject: Origin: Asia Fri Dec 31, 2010 1:08 pm | |
| A - Spoiler:
Akaname The Akaname looks like a frog-like human with wild hair, a long tongue and feet that end in a single clawed toe. The akaname can be found in dirty bathrooms by toilets and bathtubs. It usually enters at night when no one is around to bother it and uses its tongue to lick the bathroom surfaces clean. Despite its grotesque appearance, an akaname is harmless.
Akashita The Akashita is a creature with clawed hands, a hairy face and a huge lolling tongue, with most of its body hidden in a black cloud over a floodgate.
Akateko The akateko appeared as an infant's hand hanging down from a tree.
Amazake-Babaa Amazake-babaa comes to the doors of houses at late night asking for amazake in a child like voice, but anyone who answers fall ill. It was said that to keep her away, a cedar leaf is placed in the doorway. She was also known as the god of Chickenpox.
Andhaka A malevolent demon usually shown either impaled on Shiva's trident, or in skeletal form as Bhringi after submitting to Shiva, who drained his blood during the conflict.
Aryaman One of the early Vedic deities [Also known as Devas. For information on Devas, scroll down to D]. His name signifies "bosom friend".
Ashi-Magari Ashi-magari is a soft thing, like a kitten or a wad of cotton, which is felt wrapping itself around a person's leg at night, impeding the ability to walk. If they squeeze it tightly, the ashi-magari is said to feel something like the tail of an animal. While it is not generally visible, it is often believed to be a trick played by tanuki on night travellers.
Azukitogi Though it is often heard, the azukiarai is very seldom seen, but it is sometimes described as a short-statured man of grotesque appearance with a large balding head, crooked teeth, thin moustache, large bulging yellow eyes, wearing ragged clothes and bent over a pail washing azuki beans. Azukiarai is sometimes blamed on a raccoon dog or weasel. Azukiarai is linked to a mysterious noise that sounds like azuki beans being washed or ground is heard. It usually occurs near a river or other body of water. Sometimes the creature or spirit responsible amuses itself by singing "azuki togo ka, hito totte kuo ka, shoki shoki." ("Will I grind my azuki beans, or will I get a person to eat? shoki shoki."), and anyone who approaches will inevitably fall into the water. However, it won't do any more harm and if approached, the shy creature can be heard diving into the water to escape.
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Bakemono bakemono can refer to many creatures which may possess a soul in Shinto and other animistic traditions. Obake derived from household objects are often called tsukumogami. Examples of Bakemono are:
Fox (kitsune): Kitsune are often presented as tricksters, with motives that vary from mischief to malevolence. Stories tell of kitsune playing tricks on overly proud samurai, greedy merchants, and boastful commoners, while the crueler ones abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or devout Buddhist monks. Their victims are usually men; women are possessed instead. For example, kitsune are thought to employ their kitsune-bi or fox-fire to lead travelers astray in the manner of a will o' the wisp. Another tactic is for the kitsune to confuse its target with illusions or visions. Other common goals of trickster kitsune include seduction, theft of food, humiliation of the prideful, or vengeance for a perceived slight.
Raccoon dog (tanuki): The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.
Badger (mujina): Mujina is an old Japanese term primarily referring to the badger. In some regions the term refers instead to the raccoon dog (also called tanuki) or to introduced civets. Adding to the confusion, in some regions badger-like animals are also known as mami, and in one part of Tochigi Prefecture badgers are referred to as tanuki and raccoon dogs are referred to as mujina.
Transforming cat (bakeneko): A cat with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. In the last case, the tail forks in two and the bakeneko is then called a nekomata. A bakeneko will haunt any household it is kept in, creating ghostly fireballs, menacing sleepers, walking on its hind legs, changing its shape into that of a human, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place. When it is finally killed, its body may be as much as five feet in length. It also poses a danger if allowed into a room with a fresh corpse; a cat is believed to be capable of reanimating a body by jumping over it.
Plant Spirit (kodama): A spirit from Japanese folklore, which is believed to live in certain trees (similar to the Dryad of Greek myth). Cutting down a tree which houses a kodama is thought to bring misfortune, and such trees are often marked with shimenawa rope.
Baku Spirits found in Chinese and Japanese mythology that devour dreams and nightmares. Baku is akin to chimeras, either with the head of an elephant and the body of a lion or with the head of a lion, the body of a horse, the tail of a cow, and the legs and feet of a tiger. Alternatively, they may be more pig or tapir-like creatures that range in color from black to pink. Several evil dreams are mentioned in ancient Japanese books, such as two snakes twined together, a fox with the voice of a man, blood-stained garments, a talking rice-pot, and so on.
Bhaga One of the Adityas, a god of wealth and marriage in Hinduism
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Chanda A monster in the service of Sumbha and Nisumbha that Chamunda Devi killed. In Pāli texts, Chanda is a sincere wish, wholesome desire or zeal – a mental factor that does not involve unwholesome greed lobha, Kama, and Tanha .
Chinthe Like the Shisa or Fu, the Chinthe is a guardian lion that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas and temples in Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. Chinthes almost always in pairs, and serve to protect the pagoda. They typically appear as animals, but are sometimes found with human faces.
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Daitya A race of giants who fought against the Devas because they were jealous of their Deva half-brothers.
Deva A term that means spirit, demi-god, celestial being, angel, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence. In Hinduism, the devas are opposed to the demonic asuras. From a human perspective, devas share the characteristic of being invisible to the physical human eye. The presence of a deva can be detected by those humans who have opened the Divine eye (Pali: dibbacakkhu), an extrasensory power by which one can see beings from other planes. Their voices can also be heard by those who have cultivated a similar power of the ear. Most devas are also capable of constructing illusory forms by which they can manifest themselves to the beings of lower worlds; higher and lower devas even have to do this between each other. Devas do not require the same kind of sustenance as humans do, although the lower kinds do eat and drink. The higher sorts of deva shine with their own intrinsic luminosity. Devas are also capable of moving great distances speedily and of flying through the air, although the lower devas sometimes accomplish this through magical aids such as a flying chariot. Humans are said to have originally had many of the powers of the devas: not requiring food, the ability to fly through the air, and shining by their own light. Over time they began to eat solid foods, their bodies became coarser and their powers disappeared.
E - Spoiler:
Enera A yōkai, or Japanese monster, that is comprised of smoke. Enenra resides in bonfires and, when it emerges, it takes the form of a human. It is said that an enenra can only be seen by the pure of heart. The character 羅 in the enenra's name is meant to draw a comparison between the enenra and the lofty characteristics of lightweight cloth
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Fuakuchi-Onna Futa-kuchi-onna are normal women who end up having two mouths - a normal one located on her face and second one on the back of the head beneath the hair. There, the woman's skull splits apart forming lips, teeth and a tongue, creating an entirely functional second mouth. Eventually the woman's hair begins to move like a pair of serpents, allowing the mouth to help itself to the woman's meals.
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Gandharva Male nature spirits, husbands of the Apsaras. Some Gandharvas are part animal, usually a bird or horse, other appears as beautiful dancers with handsome bodies. Gandharvas have superb musical skills. They guarded the Soma and made beautiful music for the gods in their palaces.
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Harionago Harionago is said to be a beautiful woman with extremely long hair tipped with thorn-like barbs. Her hair is under her direct control, and she uses it to ensare men. When she finds a young man, she will laugh at him, and if the young man dares to laugh back, Harionago will drop her terrible, barbed hair and attack.
Hone-Onna Hone-onna is known for taking the frightening form of a skeleton woman. She may also take the guise of a beautiful woman, to lure unwitting men into having sex with her while she sucks them dry.
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Ittan Momen Ittan momen is a youkai who typically appears to be a harmless length of white cotton cloth about ten meters long. Usually it drifts through the air and will sometimes attach itself to random passers-by. If threatened or scared, it may coil around their nose and mouth, attempting to induce death by suffocation. Ittan momen enjoy flying and being worn, but only by those who have won their trust.
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Jikininki Ghouls, who eat dead human bodies. Jikininki are said to look like decomposing cadavers, perhaps with a few inhuman features such as sharp claws or glowing eyes. Their hunched bodies are covered in blisters, abrasions, scars, infections and almost completely devoid of hair, except for random tufts. They are a horrifying sight, and any mortal who views one finds themself frozen in fear. However, several stories give them the ability to magically disguise themselves as normal human beings and even to lead normal "lives" by day. Jikininki show up at night, scavenging for newly dead bodies and food offerings left for the dead. They sometimes also loot the corpses they eat for valuables, which they use to bribe local officials to leave them in peace. Nevertheless, jikininki lament their condition and hate their repugnant cravings for dead human flesh.
Jinmenju The Jinmenju grows in remote mountain valleys in China. The jinmenju's fruit appear to be human heads. The faces are always smiling or laughing, even as they fall from their branch.
Jubokku A kind of tree spirit, which is said to feed off the energy of humans. Jyubokko are not like all other trees, and in fact if a jyubokko is cut, it will bleed red blood like a human. However, they are also fast healers and tend to be sturdier than other trees. Any branch taken from a jyubokko tree, with permission, is a powerful item that can be used to heal and purify by nearly anyone. Jyubokko may also hide themselves amongst other trees and bushes, and they may even appear to alter the flora around them. They may make it easy for someone to become lost in the nearby forest, through communication with other plants.
K - Spoiler:
Kali A goddess with a long and complex history in Hinduism (although sometimes presented in the West as dark and violent). Her earliest history as a creature of annihilation still has some influence, while more complex Tantric beliefs sometimes extend her role so far as to be the Ultimate Reality and Source of Being. Finally, the comparatively recent devotional movement largely conceives of Kali as a straightforwardly benevolent mother-goddess. Therefore, Kali is associated with many devis goddesses as well as the deva god Shiva. Kali is a great and powerful black earth Mother Goddess capable of terrible destruction and represents the most powerful form of the female forces in the Universe. The Goddess Kali constantly drinks blood. She has an insatiable thirst for blood. As mistress of blood, she presides over the mysteries of both life and death. Kali intends her bloody deeds for the protection of the good. She may get carried away by her gruesome acts but she is not evil. Kali's destructive energies on the highest level are seen as a vehicle of salvation and ultimate transformation. Kali is the central deity of Time. She created the world and destroys it. She is beyond time and space. After the destruction of the Universe, she collects the seeds of the next creation: she destroys the finite to reveal the Infinite.
Kappa Kappa are mischievous troublemakers. Their pranks range from the relatively innocent, such as loudly passing gas or looking up women's kimonos, to the more troublesome, such as stealing crops, kidnapping children, or raping women. In fact, small children are one of the gluttonous kappa's favorite meals, though they will eat adults as well. They feed on these hapless victims by sucking out the shirikodama (a fabled ball found near the anus or entrails, blood, liver, or "life force", depending on the legend) through the anus. Even today, signs warning about kappa appear by bodies of water in some Japanese towns and villages. Kappa are also said to be afraid of fire, and some villages hold fireworks festivals each year to scare the spirits away. Kappa are not entirely antagonistic to mankind, however. They are curious of human civilization, and they can understand and speak Japanese (after living a thousand years accodring to some tales). They thus sometimes challenge those they encounter to various tests of skill, such as shogi or sumo wrestling. They may even befriend human beings in exchange for gifts and offerings, especially cucumbers, the only food kappa are known to enjoy more than human children. Japanese parents sometimes write the names of their children (or themselves) on cucumbers and toss them into kappa-infested waters in order to mollify the creatures and allow the family to bathe. Yet another way of winning a Kappa's friendship is to offer it some fresh cucumber sushi rolls, the one thing it loves to eat more than little children. There is even a kind of cucumber-filled sushi roll named for the kappa, the kappamaki. This affinity may have its origins in a custom of floating the year's first crop of cucumbers and eggplants (which kappa are also said to favor) into the local river in order to appease water gods and hungry ghosts. Once befriended, kappa have been known to perform any number of tasks for human beings, such as helping farmers irrigate their land. They are also highly knowledgeable of medicine, and legend states that they taught the art of bone setting to mankind. Farmers and tillers of the soil are in awe of it as well, venerating the Kappa for its unfalteringness in guarding important sources of water from defilement. To this day, shrines and temples dedicated to the worship of a Kappa deity can be found in the rural hamlets and villages of Japan. Kappa may also be tricked into helping people. Their deep sense of decorum will not allow them to break an oath, for example, so if a human being can dupe a kappa into promising to help him, the kappa has no choice but to follow through. In a similar way, if someone were to ever trap a Kappa and then release it on condition that it never harms another human being, it will honor its pledge for the rest of its existence.
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M - Spoiler:
Mada A gigantic Asura from the Hindu text, Mahabharata. Mada was created by sage Chyavana in return for the Aswins' deed to return his youth and vision. Mada's name means the intoxicator, his strength is being feared by the king of gods, Indra. It has the ability to change its size to swallow the entire universe in one gulp.
Mikoshi-Nyudo Mikoshi-nyudo looks like a large, cross-eyed mendiant usually encountered on mountain passes or on lonely roads at night. Mikoshi-nyuudou grows taller when you look up at him — and the higher you look, the taller he grows. Look up for too long and you will die, goes the legend, but say “mikoshita” (”I see higher”) and he disappears. Mikoshi-nyuudou’s true identity is unknown, but in some areas he is believed to be a shape-shifting weasel, kitsune or tanuki.
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Naree Pons Thai pod people that appeared to Buddha as beautiful women while he meditated in a secluded area. They disappeared and left a humanoid pod form behind on a nearby tree. There are two alleged Naree Pon pods in a Thai temple near Bangkok in Thailand.
Noppera-Bo Noppera-bo appear at first as ordinary human beings, sometimes impersonating someone familiar to the victim, before causing their features to disappear, leaving a blank, smooth sheet of skin where their face should be. Noppera-bo are known primarily for frightening humans, but are usually otherwise harmless.
Nukekubi By day, nukekubi appear to be normal human beings but at night, the head and neck can detach from the body and float in the air while the latter remains inanimate. The only way to tell a nukekubi from a normal human being is a line of red symbols around the base of the neck where the head detaches. However, this small detail can be easily concealed beneath clothing or jewelry. Nukekubi often try to blend into human society. They sometimes live in groups, impersonating normal human families. By night, however, their heads and necks detach smoothly from their bodies and fly about independently in search of human prey. These heads attack by screaming, (to increase their victims' fright) then closing in and biting
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Ohaguro-Bettari Some accounts suggest that she was formerly a woman who sold the teeth blackener, or an unattractive woman who was unable to get married and committed suicide, her ghost becoming the ohaguro-bettari. Some also say that she could be a tanuki or mujina in disguise while others disagree and it is unclear what her true form really is. In the Ehon hyaku monogatari Ohaguro-bettari is pictured as a woman in a bridal kimono with a mouth of blackened teeth and no other facial features, the image evoking a feeling of deep eeriness. Ohaguro-bettari usually appears at twilight usually in a shrine or temple outside of a town. There are also stories of one appearing in one's own house, though this is rare. She wears a beautiful kimono, and some say she wears a wedding outfit, but in either case she is turned away or concealing her face in her robe. However, from behind she appears to be a beautiful woman, and some men can't resist approaching to see her face. Exclaiming "Gya!" she reveals a white and ugly face, the bottom half splitting open to reveal a long range of teeth stained pitch black. The appearance of the face and her method of frightening people is very similar to the nopperabo.
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Pisacha In Hindu folklore, the pisacha is a vampiric spirit often associated with the vetala and the rakshasa but of a lower order than both of these creatures. The name pisacha is occasionally used in a way that includes all the ghosts, goblins and vampires that haunt cemeteries and ruins in India.
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Qilin A mythical hooved creature that is said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage. It is a good omen that brings rui ; roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity". It is often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body.
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Rompo A mythological hybrid creature found in India and Africa. Rompo has the head of a jack rabbit, human ears, a skeleton like body, the front arms of a badger, and the rear legs of a bear. Rompo has the head of a jack rabbit, human ears, a skeleton like body, the front arms of a badger, and the rear legs of a bear.
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Satori The creature is said to approach travellers on mountain paths in hominid form and speak their thoughts aloud. The way to counter a satori is to empty one's mind, in which case the creature will grow bored and leave, run in fear, or even die.
[color=yellow]Shirime[color] A strange yokai with an eye popping out of his butt. It is said that long ago, a samurai was walking at night down the road to Kyōto, when he heard someone calling out for him to wait. "Who's there?!" he asked nervously, only to turn around and find a man stripping off his clothes and pointing his bare buttocks at the flabbergasted traveler. As if this weren't traumatizing enough, a huge glittering eye then opened up where the strange man's anus should have been. The samurai ran away screaming, and this obscene apparition was never seen again.
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Tase In Burmese mythology, tase are the disembodied souls of dead men and women who are both vampires and spreaders of disease. There are several different orders of Tase, and each legion has its own way of torturing mortals:
Thabet Tase are the malignant spirits of women who have died during childbirth, and these come back from the dead as succubi. The demons make their appearance around twilight, lurking near the dwellings of the villagers, and haunting men in particular.
Thaye Tase are grotesque looking giants manifesting themselves most frequently during the epidemics of smallpox and cholera. They are the souls of those who died a violent death. Their greatest pleasure is to materialize by the bedside of a dying person, giggling and laughing hideously at their victim's agony.
Hminza Tase is the name of a third and lesser group of demons. These are able to enter the bodies of certain animals such as crocodiles, dogs, and tigers. Haunting the dwelling grounds of their past existence, they wreak vengeance on anyone that crosses their path for the misfortunes they themselves endured during life.
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Uwan A disembodied voice that inhabits old, abandoned temples and homes. Ancient Japanese legends provide several examples of formless yōkai like the uwan, which consist of nothing but sound, light or other natural phenomena. In the Edo period, however, these demon spirits assumed physical bodies as artists such as Sawaki Suushi incorporated them into their work. According to ancient legends from Aomori Prefecture, when a person enters a one of these buildings, the formless yōkai shouts out an ear-piercing “Uwan!” The voice is only audible to people inside the building — those outside hear nothing. Since an uwan does not physically exist and only consists of sound, it poses no physical danger.
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Vampire Cat of Nabeshima There is a tradition in the Nabéshima family (of the Hizen daimyo) that, many years ago, the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset, when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start, and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly, bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her form, began to bewitch the Prince.
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Wanyudo Wanyudo is said to take the form of a burning oxcart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man. Various folklore purports him as the condemned soul of a tyrant daimyo who, in life, was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an oxcart. He is said to guard the gates of Hell and to wander back and forth along the road between this world and the underworld, scaring townsfolk as he passes and stealing the souls of anyone who gets too close in order to bring them to Hell with him.
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Yeti A large primate-like cryptid supposedly living in the Himalayas.
Yuki-onna Yuki-onna appears as a tall, beautiful woman with long hair on snowy nights. Her skin is inhumanly pale or even transparent, causing her to blend into the snowy landscape (as she is most famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face, hair, and pubic region standing out against the snow. Until the 18th century, Yuki-onna was almost uniformly portrayed as evil. Today, however, stories often color her as more human, emphasizing her ghostlike nature and ephemeral beauty. Although she is often thought to come out during snowstorms or during a full moon, in some regions the snow woman is said to make her appearance on a fixed date. In Iwate Prefecture's Tono area she appears on koshogatsu (January 15th), and in Aomori Prefecture's Nishitsugaru District she shows up on New Year's Day and leaves on the first day of February. In many stories, Yuki-onna reveals herself to travelers who find themselves trapped in snowstorms and uses her icy breath to leave them as frost-coated corpses. She will appear as a stunningly beautiful young woman to young men and freeze them to death with her kiss, turning him into a block of ice. Other legends say that she leads them astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she manifests holding a child. When a well-intentioned soul takes the "child" from her, he or she is frozen in place. Parents searching for lost children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends make Yuki-onna much more aggressive. In these stories, she often physically invades people's homes, blowing in the door with a gust of wind, to kill them while they sleep (though some legends require her to be invited inside first). Other yuki-onna are even more menacing; the snow woman of Niigata Prefecture causes people to freeze to death and tears the livers out of living children, in Iwate and Miyagi she can pull out your soul, and in Ibaraki she calls out to passers-by and pushes them into ravines if she is ignored. In Aomori she takes on the character of the mother ghost called ubume, harassing people into holding her child, which then becomes so large as to crush the bearer. Like the snow and winter weather she represents, Yuki-onna has a softer side. She sometimes lets would-be victims go for various reasons. In one popular Yuki-onna legend, for example, she sets a young boy free due to his beauty and age. She makes him promise to never mention her again, though, and when he relates the story to his wife much later in life, his wife reveals herself to be none other than the snow woman. She reviles him for breaking his promise but spares him yet again, this time out of concern for the children she has born him (but if he dares mistreat their children, she will return with no mercy. Luckily for him, he is already a loving father). In a similar legend, Yuki-onna melts away once her husband discovers her true nature. Despite her inhuman beauty, Yuki-onna's eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a notable feature for many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if she is threatened.
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Zhu Rong Zhu Rong, also known as Chu Jong, is a God of Fire from Chinese mythology. He is regent of the southern quarter of heaven and helped in the division of heaven and earth. It was said that Zhu Rong and the monster Gong-Gong one day fought each other in a contest to see who was mightier. Zhu Rong emerged victorious, and the depressed Gong-Gong attempted to commit suicide, thus creating a great flood.
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