Baize
Illustrated Record of Ten Thousand Demons Who Know Ghosts and Comprehend the Divine
Original Text from the Classic of Mountains and Seas
The Emperor went on an inspection tour, traveling east to the sea. He ascended Mount Huan, and on the shore encountered the divine beast Baize. It could speak, and possessed knowledge of the nature of all things under heaven. — Chronicles of the Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor toured the realm, traveling east to the edge of the great sea. He ascended Mount Huan, and on the shore encountered the divine beast Baize. Baize could speak human language and understood the conditions of all things in the world.
The Emperor went on an inspection tour, traveling east to the sea. He ascended Mount Huan, and on the shore encountered the divine beast Baize. It could speak, and possessed knowledge of the nature of all things under heaven. — Chronicles of the Yellow Emperor
Identity and Characteristics
Lion's body with a human face, covered in white fur like snow, two horns on its forehead, eyes like torches, radiating the light of wisdom from its entire being
Comprehends the nature of all things, knows the names and weaknesses of every demon, ghost, and spirit, and can speak human language
Wisdom, ward against evil, the power of knowledge
Legendary Stories
Every mythological system has its warriors, its tricksters, its tyrants. But only Chinese mythology has a divine beast whose superpower is being a "living encyclopedia." Meet Baize (Báizé) — it knows the ins and outs of every monster, every ghost, every evil spirit in the world, and how to counter each one of them.
Baize's most central legend comes from texts such as the Chronicles of the Yellow Emperor (Xuānyuán Běnjì). It is said that the great Yellow Emperor (Huángdì) — the mythical progenitor of Chinese civilization — while touring the realm, traveled east to the seaside, ascended Mount Huan (Huán Shān), and encountered an extraordinary divine beast: Baize. It had a lion-like body covered in pure white fur, a human face with two horns, and eyes that radiated an inner light capable of piercing through all illusions.
But what truly made Baize extraordinary was not its appearance, but its voice. It could speak human language and possessed unmatched knowledge in all the world. Baize told the Yellow Emperor about every supernatural being in existence — a total of eleven thousand five hundred and twenty (11,520) kinds of monsters and ghosts (yāoguài guǐmèi). For each one, it described in detail that being's appearance, behavior, habitat, weaknesses, and the methods to repel or defeat it.
The Yellow Emperor knew the priceless value of this knowledge and immediately ordered his scribes to record everything Baize said. The result was the legendary Baize Tu (Báizé Tú) — essentially the world's first encyclopedia of monsters. Although the original text of this work has been lost in the river of history, it was repeatedly cited in countless later works, becoming one of the most important texts in Chinese demonology and folk belief.
For centuries, the Baize Tu was not merely a reference book — it was a survival guide. Ordinary people would keep copies or summaries of it in their homes, believing that knowing a monster's name granted one the power to subdue it. This concept — that naming a thing strips it of its terror — is deeply rooted in Chinese folk belief. If you know what a ghost is called and what it fears, it cannot harm you. By granting this knowledge to humanity, Baize effectively armed an entire civilization against supernatural threats.
The image of Baize itself became a powerful ward against evil (bìxié). During the Tang (Táng) and Song (Sòng) dynasties, people would paste images of Baize on doors and walls, and even embroider them on clothing and military banners. Carrying an image of Baize was believed to render you "invisible" to evil spirits — not because Baize was a fierce warrior, but because monsters feared being recognized. A being that knows your true name and weaknesses is more terrifying to a monster than any blade.
Baize's appearance underwent significant evolution throughout Chinese history. In early depictions, it was painted as a majestic, lion-shaped divine beast with human facial features — wise and solemn. By the Ming (Míng) and Qing (Qīng) dynasties, some painters began depicting it with bovine or ovine features, sometimes with multiple eyes covering its entire body — each eye representing its ability to perceive a different type of supernatural being. Some versions depict it with six or even eight eyes arranged in rows — a visual metaphor for omniscience and omnipotence.
Although texts such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas do not directly record this beast under the name "Baize," later scholars integrated the narrative of the Yellow Emperor encountering a beast during his sea tour with older legends. Daoist texts such as the Yunji Qiqian (Yúnjī Qīqiān) endowed Baize with additional religious significance, regarding it as an oracle beast granted by Heaven to enlightened rulers — only a ruler with the Way could encounter Baize, just as only an era of virtue could witness the qilin.
What makes Baize unique in world mythology is its role. It is not a warrior, not a guardian, not a judge. It is a teacher. Its gift to humanity is not power or magic — it is information. In a world teeming with monsters, Baize says: you do not need to be stronger than your enemy; you only need to understand your enemy. Knowledge itself is the ultimate weapon.
East-West Comparison
The Greek Sphinx is Baize's closest Western counterpart — both are hybrid creatures, both are associated with profound knowledge. But their relationship with knowledge is diametrically opposed. The Sphinx crouches before the gates of Thebes posing riddles: answer correctly and you may pass; answer wrongly and it devours you. Knowledge is a threshold, a test, a weapon used against humanity. The Sphinx hoards wisdom and punishes those who lack it.
Baize does the exact opposite. It actively seeks out humanity's ruler and pours out everything it knows — the complete intelligence on 11,520 kinds of monsters, given freely. The Sphinx is a gatekeeper; Baize is an open library. The Sphinx uses knowledge to destroy; Baize uses knowledge to protect. This reflects a deep cultural difference: in Greek mythology, wisdom is dangerous and must be won through suffering; in Chinese mythology, wisdom is generous and flows naturally to those who have the virtue to receive it. The Sphinx asks, "Are you worthy?" Baize says, "Come, everything I know is yours."
Modern Influence
Baize's legacy runs deep in Japanese yōkai culture, where it is known as "Hakutaku" and appears frequently in supernatural folklore and art. Baize's concept of "cataloging all monsters" directly inspired countless "bestiary" and "encyclopedia" mechanics in video games and anime — from the Pokédex to monster compendiums in various RPGs, all traceable to this archetype. In Chinese folk belief, Baize door paintings and talismans remain part of evil-warding customs in some rural areas to this day. In Chinese web literature and mobile games, Baize is typically portrayed as a wise advisor or omniscient NPC — the kind of character who provides crucial intelligence to the protagonist at key moments. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Baize's image unexpectedly went viral on social media, with netizens casting it as a "plague-expelling divine beast," perfectly echoing its original job of driving out evil spirits from a thousand years ago.
