page_title: Ghosts in Chinese culture
section_title: Terminology
hierarchical_section_title: Ghosts in Chinese culture / Terminology
context_page_description: Chinese folklore features a rich variety of ghosts, monsters, and other supernatural creatures. According to traditional beliefs a ghost is the spirit form of a person who has died. Ghosts are typically malevolent and will cause harm to the living if provoked. Many Chinese folk beliefs about ghosts have been adopted into the mythologies and folklore of neighboring East Asian cultures, notably Japan and Korea. Beliefs about ghosts are closely associated with Chinese ancestor worship, where much have been incorporated into Buddhism and in turn influenced and created uniquely Chinese Buddhist beliefs about the supernatural.
  Traditionally, the Chinese believed that it was possible to contact the spirits of deceased relatives and ancestors through a medium. It was believed that the spirits of the deceased can help them if they were properly respected and rewarded. The annual Hungry Ghost Festival, celebrated in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and elsewhere in the Chinese diaspora, is dedicated to performing rituals to honor and remember the spirits of the dead. On this day ghosts and other supernatural creatures come out from the Underworld and move among the living.
context_section_description: '鬼' (Mandarin pinyin: guǐ) is the general Chinese term for ghost, used in combination with other symbols to give related meanings such as guilao (鬼佬), literally "ghost man", a pejorative term for foreigners, and mogwai (魔鬼) meaning "devil".  Characters such as 魇 (yǎn) meaning "nightmare" also carry related meanings.
  Yan Wang (閻王), also called Yanluo (閻羅) is the god of death and the sovereign of the underworld. He is also the judge of the underworld, and decides whether the dead will have good or miserable future lives. Although ultimately based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yan Wang has developed different myths and different functions from the Hindu deity. Yan Wang is normally depicted wearing a Chinese judge's cap in Chinese and Japanese art. He sometimes appears on Chinese Hell Bank Notes.
  Zhong Kui (鍾馗) is the vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. Portraits of him were hung in Chinese houses at the end of the Chinese lunar year to scare away evil spirits and demons. He is depicted as fierce man with a black face and a comic beard brandishing a magic sword. Zhong Kui is said to be himself the ghost of a man who failed to pass the civil service examinations and committed suicide. He then became a ghost hunter. There is a story that the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang once dreamed that a small ghost stole the purse of the imperial consort. A larger ghost – Zhong Kui – captured the smaller one and returned the purse.
caption: Old Chinese painting depicting Yanluo, the ruler of Hell
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