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Concept
Chi (mythology)
Summary
Chi () means either "a hornless dragon" or "a mountain demon" (namely, ) in Chinese mythology. Hornless dragons were a common motif in ancient Chinese art, and the chiwen (lit. "hornless-dragon mouth") was an imperial roof decoration in traditional Chinese architecture.
In Modern Standard Chinese usage, "hornless dragon" occurs in words such as:
—"hornless dragon"; i.e. making it clear that a dragon and not a demon is being talked about.
—"carved dragon handle (esp. on cups)"
—"a roof ornament shaped like a dragon". Compare the homophonous variant .
or chītóu —"an architectural adornment; gargoyle"
—"carved patterns of sinuous dragons (esp. on pillars/bronzes)"
—"steps of the imperial palace; the Emperor"
The Chinese character for , , combines the "bug radical" (Kangxi radical #142)—typically used in words for insects, reptiles, and dragons—with a phonetic symbol, (). This phonetic element is pronounced either when used for "demon; dragon" or when used for . The c. 3rd century BCE seal script character for , which is the earliest known writing, has the same radical-phonetic combination.
This "hornless dragon" is also a variant Chinese character for chi (differentiated with the "ghost radical" ) "mountain demon", which only occurs in the compound chimei "mountain and forest demons; evil spirits; goblins". Chimei is sometimes written or with chi . Note the "ghost radical" in the mei characters (with a phonetic of wei ) and (with the "hair radical" representing the demon's hair, cf. chi 's variant ).
The Shuowen Jiezi (121 CE), which was the first Chinese dictionary of characters, gives , , and definitions.
"A mountain spirit and wild beast, [the pictograph] comes from its birdlike head, legs, and tail."
"[A creature] like a dragon and yellow, in the north, they call it , [the pictograph] comes from the "bug radical" and a chi phonetic, or, a hornless [dragon] is called chi."
"A kind of ghost/demon, [the ideograph] comes from the "ghost radical" and chi "mountain demon radical", which is also the phonetic.
Official source
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