Through our class discussion on zoom and looking at my classmates responses in the discussion board, I learned that there is a strong connection between power and these mountain creatures. These creatures are strange, ferocious, and wild which pose a threat to the ruler as they are misunderstood. The inability to control these creatures would be seen as an incredible weakness to the emperor, and other people in power, which is why exorcisms were performed.
I am impressed with the amount of different magical creatures that were said to exist in ancient China. It must have taken a degree of creativity to assign these creatures different characteristics and powers. It is also important to note that these creatures may have been based off of birth defects, distinct physical traits of foreigners, or combinations of two or more animals. These creatures can be compared to goblins and fairies in Europe. I find it to be very interesting how different cultures come up with different mythical creatures and what these creatures say about the society. For example, in ancient China the strangeness and fear of these creatures may be a reflection of the fear of foreigners who they deemed barbaric. There are even some forms of magical creatures in modern American society such as the tooth fairy, vampires, and zombies. While many people do not actually believe these creatures exist, it would be interesting to analyze them with the goal of figuring out what they say about our society.
