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==China== Certain fantastical types of "fish", generically referred to as ''renyu'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|人|魚}}}}, "human-fish") are alleged to occur in various parts of China according to the ''Shan Hai Jing'' (''[[Classic of Mountains and Seas]]'', 4th century BC). It is mentioned in the ''Bei Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the Northern mountains"), ''Zhong Shan Jing'' (Central Mountains), and ''Xi Shan Jing'' (Western Mountains) sections of this work.{{sfnp|Kuzumi|2006b|p=53}}<ref name="kong&chen"/> This work and others also mention several additional types of "anthropomorphic fish"{{sfnp|Magnani|2022|p=87}} with limbs in other regions such as the {{interlanguage link|chiru|zh|赤鱬|lt=''chiru''}} ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|赤|鱬}}}}; "red ru fish"<ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-chiru-redrufish"/>) and {{interlanguage link|lingyu (fish)|zh|陵鱼|lt=''lingyu''}} ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|陵}}魚}}; "hill-fish"), considered to be in the same category of creatures. Certain tribes or races of humans were also described being part-fish, namely the {{interlanguage link|Di people (merfolk)|zh|氐人族|lt=Di people}}.{{sfnp|Magnani|2022|p=89}}{{sfnp|Kuzumi|2006b|p=53}} It is recorded that the [[Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor]] was illuminated with lamps fueled by the oil of the human-fish (''renyu''), whose flames were meant to last a very long time.<ref name="sima_qian-watson-tr"/><ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-lingyu-hillfish"/> In the Chinese Song Dynasty's supernatural tale collection ''[[Yijian Zhi]]'' (夷堅志), there are stories of sea sirens similar to those in other folklore. One tale describes a beautiful female demon living on a cliff of an island. A man sailed to the island, married a woman there, and she taught him how to recognize plants and avoid dangers, protecting him from wild beasts. They had two sons together. However, when a fellow townsman arrived on the island and took the man back by boat, the woman cursed him, throwing their sons into the water in a fit of rage and yelling at him to leave. The man stayed silent after boarding the ship.<ref name="a">{{cite book |title=夷堅志 |date=2006 |publisher=中华书局 |isbn=978-7-101-05236-7 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adxKAQAAIAAJ&q=%E5%A4%B7%E5%A0%85%E5%BF%97 |language=zh}}</ref> Another tale from [[Guangzhou]] tells of a merchant who, upon reaching an island, was captured by two women and taken into the mountains. They fed him daily, but he couldn't tell if he was still alive. After about a year, he overheard the women discussing magic, and he begged them to take him to the place where it was performed. When they did, he sought help, causing the women to flee by flying away. Though he was revived, his food gradually dwindled, and he died two months later.<ref name="a"/> ===''Renyu'' or human-fish=== ;(aka ''haieryu''. subtypes ''tiyu'' and ''niyu'' ) {{multiple image | header = ''Renyu'' of Jueshui ("Bursting River"), Mt. Dragon-Marquis. | total_width = | image1 = Sancai-tuhui-094-bird&beast6-06renyu-humanfish - labeled.jpg | caption1 = Described as resembling a ''fei'' {{linktext|𩵥}} type of fish.{{right|{{small|― Wang Qi. ''[[Sancai Tuhui]]'' (1609)}}<ref name="wang_qi-sancai_tuhui-renyu"/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The accompanying text here says the ''renyu'' resembles a fish called ''fei''.}}}} | alt1 = A fei-like renyu | image2 = Wang fu(1895)-shanhaijingcun3-fol27a-renyu-manfish.png | caption2 = Described as resembling a ''tiyu'' {{lang|zh|䱱魚}} .{{efn|Image for the ''tiyu'' (''renyu''/''haieryu'') in {{harvnb|Suzuki tr.|1929}} ''Benca Gangmu'' is reproduced in {{harvnb|Kuzumi|2006b|p=60}} which resembles this picture.}}{{right|{{small|―{{interlanguage link|Wang Fu (Qing dynasty)|zh|汪紱|lt=Wang Fu}}(d. 1759) '' Shan hai jing cun''<!-- 山海經存-->, pub. 1895}}<ref name="wang_fu3-beishanjing3"/>}} | alt2 = A tiyu-like renyu | footer = }} The ''renyu'' ({{lang|zh|人魚}}; human-fish) is described in the ''Bei Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the North Mountains") section as dwelling on Mt. Longhou ({{lang|zh|龍侯山}}, "Dragon-Marquis Mountain") in the waters of the Jueshui ({{lang|zh|決水}}, "Bursting River"), which flows eastward into the [[Yellow River]].{{Refn|Alternatively, River BurstBurst ({{lang|zh|決決水}}) on Mount Dragonbutt.{{sfnp|Birrell tr.|2000|p=45}}}} It is said to "resemble the ''tiyu''"<ref name="shanhaijing03northern"/><ref>Cf. {{harvp|Unschuld tr.|2021|p=733}}: "The ''Bei shan jing'' states: "The Jue shui river has many ''ren yu'' 人魚 sea-cows. They are shaped like ''ti yu'' 䱱魚, newts, but have four feet.."</ref> (translated as "resemble catfish"<ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-renyu-humanfish"/>{{sfnp|Birrell tr.|2000|p=45}}<ref>Cf. {{harvp|Luo tr.|2003|p=3606}}: "''Beishan Jing'': In Jueshui River there are many dugongs. They look like catfish but have four legs..""</ref>){{Refn|Cf. {{harvp|Unschuld tr.|2021|p=733}}:}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The ''tiyu'' is not literally a catfish but a subtype of ''renyu'' "human-fish", according to the ''Bencao Gangmu'', as given below. However, this translation may be justified in the light of [[Guo Pu]]'s commentary to the ''Bei Shan Jing'', which reads "The ''renyu'' is, namely, the ''niyu''. It resembles catfish with four feet/legs, and voice like a child crying. Nowadays this catfish is also called the ''ti'' 人魚即鯢也。似鮎而四足、聲如兒嗁。今亦呼鮎爲䱱。音蹏(テイ)". In Naoaki Maeno ed. (1975). ''Sengaikyō retsu sennin den''<!--前野直彬『山海経・列仙人伝』--> ''apud'' Yamaguchi (1995)<ref name="yamaguchi_tetsuro"/>}}{{Refn|This Guo Pu quote as commentary to ''Bei Shan Jing'' is hard to confirm in other secondary sources, but similar phrases about ''renyu'' resembling catfish were written by other near-contemporaries, one being "Guangzhi" 廣志 (attributed to Guo Yigong 郭義恭) as preserved in the ''[[Shui Jing Zhu]]'': [[Yi River (Henan)|Yi River]],<!--"鯢魚聲如小兒啼,有四足,形如鯪鱧,可以治牛,出伊水也"--> cf. commentary to the ''Hainei bei jing'' 海内北經 (Classic of regions within the seas: North), by Yuan Ke.<ref name="yuan_ke2004"/> Another is {{interlanguage link|Xu Gugang (scholar)|zh|徐廣|lt=Xu Gugang}}, <!--徐廣曰 人魚似鮎而四足。即鯢魚也--> probably from his ''Shiji Yinyi'' or "Pronunciation and Meaning of the Shiji"; both these are quoted in annotations to the ''Shiji'': Books of the First Emperor of Qin, 6, which mentions the human-fish oil used for lanterns in the Emperor's tumulus.{{sfnp|Fujisawa|1925|pp=45–46}}}} possess four legs, with a voice like baby crying.{{Refn|name="bencao-gangmu-tiyu"}} Eating the fish purportedly cured idiocy<ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-renyu-humanfish"/> or dementia.{{sfnp|Unschuld tr.|2021|p=733}}{{sfnp|Luo tr.|2003|p=3606}} This fish as a cure was also quoted in the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''[[Bencao Gangmu]]'' (1596) under its entry for ''Tiyu'' ({{lang-zh|䱱魚}}){{Refn|name="bencao-gangmu-tiyu"|Li Shizhen, ''Bencao Gangmu'', (Chapter 44 §42) "Animals with Scales 4": §Tiyu. (Chinese);{{sfnp|Li Shizhen|1596}}{{sfnp|Li Shizhen|1782}} (English translations);{{sfnp|Unschuld tr.|2021|pp=732–733}}{{sfnp|Luo tr.|2003|pp=3606–3607}} (Japanese tr.).{{sfnp|Suzuki tr.|1929}}}} The ''[[Bencao Gangmu]]'' categorized the ''tiyu'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|䱱}}魚}}<!--䱱魚-->) as one of two types of "human-fish" (''renyu''). The human-fish were also known as "child-fish" or ''haieryu'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|孩|兒}}魚}}<!--孩兒魚-->; {{lang|zh|孩儿鱼}}).{{Refn|name="bencao-gangmu-tiyu"}}<ref>Luo tr. (2003), index. [https://books.google.com/books?id=qUgoAQAAIAAJ&q=%22haieryu%22 '''6''': 4255]</ref> The other type, called the ''niyu'' ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|鯢}}魚}}<!--鯢魚-->) is elaborated in a separate section.{{Refn|name="bencao-gangmu-niyu"|Li Shizhen, ''Bencao Gangmu'', (Chapter 44 §43) "Animals with Scales 4": §Niyu. (Chinese);{{sfnp|Li Shizhen|1596}}{{sfnp|Li Shizhen|1782}} (English translations);{{sfnp|Unschuld tr.|2021|pp=733–734}}{{sfnp|Luo tr.|2003|pp=3607}} (Japanese tr.).{{sfnp|Suzuki tr.|1929}}}} It has been noted by [[Li Shizhen]] that the character for the ''Niyu'' (''Ni'' {{lang|zh|鯢}} fish) consists of the "fish" [[Radical (Chinese characters)|indexing component]] ({{lang|zh|魚}}) and "child" ({{lang|zh|兒}}) radical.{{sfnp|Luo tr.|2003|pp=3607}} Translators of the ''Bencao Gangmu'' attempt to match entries with actual [[taxa]] of animals, forbs, etc., where possible, and the ''tiyu'' type is glossed as "newts" while the ''niyu'' type is "[[Chinese giant salamander]]".{{sfnp|Unschuld tr.|2021|pp=732–733}} ===''Chiru'' or red ru fish=== [[File:南山經-赤鱬.svg|thumb|left|The ''chiru'' or "red ru fish".{{right|{{small|― Hu Wenhuan 胡文焕 (fl. 1596–1650). ''Shanhaijing tu'' 山海經圖 ("Illustrations to the Classic of Mountains and Seas", 16th century).}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|A close copy of this woodcut occurs in Wu Renchen's edition of 1667.<ref name="wu_renchen1667-chiru"/>}}}}]] The {{interlanguage link|chiru|zh|赤鱬|lt=''chiru''}} ({{lang|zh|赤鱬}}; "red ru fish".<ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-chiru-redrufish"/> Wade–Giles: ''ch'ih-ju''; "red ju"{{sfnp|Schiffeler|1977|p=120}}) is described in the ''Nan Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the Southern Mountains") as a human-headed fish. It is said to be found in the Qingqushan ({{lang|zh|青丘山}} "Green-Hills Mountains") in the Pool-of-Yi (Yì zhī zé {{lang|zh|翼之澤}}; "Carp-Wings Lake"). It is described as basically fish-form but having a human face, and issuing sounds like the [[mandarin duck]]. Eating it purportedly prevented [[scabies]] or itchy skin.<ref name="shanhaijing01southern"/><ref name="shanhaijing-strassberg-chiru-redrufish"/> The illustration of the ''chiru'' from China may have influenced the legless, human-faced fish visualization of some of the ''ningyo'' in Japan, according to the hypothesis of {{interlanguage link|Morihiko Fujisawa|ja|藤澤衛彦}}.{{sfnp|Fujisawa|1925|p=26}} ===Jiaoren=== The ''[[jiaoren]]'' ({{linktext|蛟|人}} "[[jiaolong|flood dragon]] people" or {{linktext|鮫|人}} "shark people"){{Refn|[[Edward H. Schafer]] also refers to "shark" here being interchangeable with ''jiao'' dragon (which he suggests translating as "cockatrice").<ref name="schafer1952-p156"/>}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The conception of them seems to have shifted from half-reptilian to half-fish in later periods.{{sfnp|Nakano|1983|p=143}}}} that appear in [[medieval]] writings are considered to be references to [[merfolk (disambiguation)|merfolk]].{{sfnp|Magnani|2022|p=87}}<ref name=wetherall/><ref>{{harvp|Nakano|1983|p=143}}; {{harvp|Matsuoka|1982|p=49}}</ref> This mythical southern mermaid or [[merman]] is recorded in {{interlanguage link|Ren Fang|zh|任昉}}'s {{interlanguage link|Shuyi Ji (Ren Fang){{!}}''Shuyi ji''|zh|述異記 (任昉)}}<!--遹異記 --> "Records of Strange Things" (early 6th century CE).{{Refn|name=shuyi-ji|Ren Fang, ''Shuyi Ji'', second volume.:{{sfnp|Nakano|1983|p=140}} "南海中有鮫人室水居如魚不廢機織其眼泣則出珠晉木𤣥虚海賦云天琛水怪鮫人之室" (translation quoted below).}}<ref name=schafer1952-p160/> <blockquote>In the midst of the South Sea are the houses of the ''kău'' ({{lang-zh|t=鮫|p=jiao|w=chiao}}<ref>{{harvnb|Schafer|1967|pp=217–218}}</ref>) people who dwell in the water like fish, but have not given up weaving at the loom. Their eyes have the power to weep, but what they bring forth is pearls.<ref>{{harvnb|Schafer|1967|p=220}}</ref></blockquote> Similar passages appear in other texts such as the ''[[Bowuzhi]]'' ({{lang|zh|博物志}}, "Treatise of Manifold " {{c.|290 CE}}) as "weep[ing] tears that became pearls".<ref name=bowuzhi2/>{{sfnp|Magnani|2022|p=91}}<ref name=chengyu-kao-tr-lockhart/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|A 15th-century compilation of quotations from Chinese literature, the {{interlanguage link|Youxue qionglin{{!}}''Chengyu kao''|zh|幼学琼林}} ({{lang-zh|t=成語考|link=no}}; "Idioms investigated") merely gives a partial quote from the ''Bowuzhi'' as "The mermaid wept tears that became pearls".<ref name="chengyu-kao-tr-lockhart"/>}} These aquatic people supposedly spun a type of raw silk called ''jiaoxiao'' {{linktext|蛟|綃}} "mermaid silk" or ''jiaonujuan'' {{linktext|蛟|女|絹}} "mermaid woman's silk". [[Edward H. Schafer|Schafer]] equates this with [[sea silk]], the rare fabric woven from [[byssus]] filaments produced by [[Pinna (genus)|Pinna]] "pen shell" mollusks.<ref>{{harvnb|Schafer|1967|p=221}}</ref>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Chinese writings claimed that the raw material for such "silk" came from ''shuiyang'' 水羊 "water sheep" or ''shuican'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|水|蠶}}}} "water silkworm" aka ''bingcan'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|冰}}蠶}} "ice silkworm".<ref name="schafer1963"/> Cf. [[sea silk]].}} === ''Loting'' === [[File:盧亨魚人.jpg|thumb|Artist interpretation of Lu Heng fish activity by Author Hwlisc]] Loting (盧亭) is a mysterious ethnic group residing in Hong Kong's Myths.<ref>{{Cite web |title=盧亭: 大嶼山的香港神話 |url=http://had18.huluhk.org/article-detail.php?id=306&lang=tc |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=港文化18區 |language=zh-Hant-HK}}</ref> They are legendary merfolk half human and half fish, also known as Lo Yu, Lu Heng, or Lo Ting Fish Man.<ref>{{Cite web |title=灣區舊事/說盧亭 - 大公報 |url=https://www.tkww.hk/epaper/view/newsDetail/1650565400821370880.html |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=大公文匯 www.tkww.hk}}</ref> They have lived on Tai O' Lantau Island in Hong Kong since the local civil uprising in the Eastern Jin Dynasty of China.<ref>{{Citation |title=卢循 |date=2023-04-12 |work=維基百科,自由的百科全書 |url=https://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%8D%A2%E5%BE%AA&oldid=76778994 |access-date=2024-07-20 |language=zh-Hant-HK}}</ref> It is said that Loting has fish scales on his fish-like human body, a face that resembles humans, and he enjoys sucking chicken blood.<ref>{{Cite web |last=鍵盤大檸檬 |date=2019-11-30 |title=「香港人魚」人身魚尾、嗜食雞血 傳為港人祖先 淒涼身世藏洋蔥 {{!}} 鴨卵青 {{!}} 鍵盤大檸檬 {{!}} ETtoday新聞雲 |url=https://www.ettoday.net/dalemon/post/47267 |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=www.ettoday.net |language=zh-Hant}}</ref> They could use their catch to fish from Tai O and trade chickens with the local human inhabitants to survive.
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