Editing Yeren (section)

==Antiquity==
Oral traditions and literature of "wild men" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|野|人}}|p=yěrén}}) and similar creatures have persisted for millennia in [[Chinese folk religion|Chinese folklore]]. Their oldest ostensible appearance in writing may lie in the ''[[Jiu Ge]]'' ("Nine Songs") by [[Qu Yuan]] who lived from 340 to 278 BC in the state of [[Chu (state)|Chu]] during the [[Warring States period]]. His 9th Song speaks of a "mountain spirit" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|山|鬼}}|p=shān guǐ}}); these characters generally refer to a human figure. The mountain spirit has variously been interpreted as a humanlike creature clad in a [[fig leaf]], a [[yaoguai]] (a demon), or an [[ogre]]. In 1982, Chinese paleoanthropologist Zhou Guoxing discovered a 2,000 year old lantern with an ornament apparently depicting a "hairy man" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|毛人}}|p=máorén}}), which similarly speaks to an ancient tradition surrounding wild men.{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=2–3}}

[[File:Sheng1sheng1.jpg|thumb|upright|Depiction of two xingxing in the ''[[Classic of Mountains and Seas]]'', 1596 AD]]
Written reports of "wildmen" become more frequent in the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907 AD), though they are quite inconsistent in how visually human these creatures are. Other supposed early descriptions of hairy wildmen include:{{sfn|Smith|2021|pp=2–3}}
*The ''[[Yi Zhou Shu]]'' and ''[[Erya]]'' compiled in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC mention a fast-moving, long-haired creature using a character commonly translated as "[[baboon]]" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|狒|狒}}|p=feifei}}) that supposedly ate people:
{{blockquote|text=If you drink the blood of the feifei, you will be able to see ghosts. It is so strong that it can shoulder one thousand [[catty|catties]] [{{cvt|500|kg|lb}}] ... its upper lip always covers its head. Its shape is like that of an ape. It uses human speech, but it sounds like a bird. It can foretell life and death. Its blood can dye things dark purple, and its hair can be used to make wigs. Legend has it that its heels face backwards … hunters say that it has no knees|author=[[Duan Chengshi]], ''[[Youyang Zazu]]'', 853 AD{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=3}}}}
*The ''[[Erya]]'' also mentions a creature using a character translated as "[[orangutan]]" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|猩|々}}|p=xīngxing}}), an animal not native to China, or more generally "ape". In 139 BC, [[Gao Yu]] described the xingxing in the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' as having the face of a human but the "body of a beast".
*In 650 AD, [[Zhao Yanshou]] detailed a band of maoren who scaled a city wall.

On account of their "wild" nature, these creatures were often portrayed as lustful, capturing and raping villagers, the latter especially if the victim was female. Usually referred to as the jue ({{zhi|t={{linktext|玃}}|p=jué}}), these apemen purportedly lack females entirely and need to abduct and rape women to breed. The reverse is said for the "wild women" or "wild wives" ({{zhi|t={{linktext|野|妻}}|p=Yě qī}}) or sometimes xingxing, where they would abduct and sling men over their backs, carrying them up the mountain to wed.{{sfn|Schmalzer|2008|p=233}}

{{blockquote|text=Her lips had giant bite marks, the area around her genitals was broken open and torn apart [to the point that] all her bones could be seen, and there was more than a pint of blood mixed with white semen on the ground.|author=[[Yuan Mei]] describing an alleged "hairy man" victim from the [[Shaanxi Province]], ''[[What the Master Would Not Discuss]]'', 1788 CE{{sfn|Schmalzer|2008|p=234}}}}

[[File:老君山远眺 - panoramio.jpg|thumb|The yeren is often associated with the forests of [[Shennongjia]].{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=3}}]]
The exact name "yeren" has typically been used in the mountains of the [[Shennongjia|Shennongjia Forestry District]] in the [[Hubei]] Province, though the earliest written reports of the yeren are from [[Fang County]] {{cvt|90|km}} north of Shennongjia. In 1555, during the [[Qing dynasty]], its local newspaper ''Fangxianzhi'' published a story about a group of yeren sheltering in nearby mountain caves which preyed on their dogs and chickens.{{sfn|Smith|2021|p=3}} In rural Hubei, the yeren were rumored to be the descendants of the runaway laborers conscripted to build the [[Great Wall of China]].{{sfn|Schmalzer|2008|p=222}} Other newspapers as well as Chinese natural history works, such as [[Li Shizhen]]'s 1578 ''[[Compendium of Materia Medica]]'', frequently mention yeren or similar apemen.{{sfn|Schmalzer|2008|p=222}}