Yeren

nature_spirit mountain wildness single tradition · 2

The yeren (Chinese: 野人; pinyin: yěrén; lit. 'wild man') is a cryptid apeman reported to inhabit remote, mountainous regions of China, most famously in the Shennongjia Forestry District in the Hubei Province. Generally, they are described as savage, strong, and fast-moving, living in mountain caves and descending only to raid villages in search of food or women.

↻ synthesized from 2 sources

When

First attested
340 BCE
Attested period
-340 – 2020
Historical notes
Sightings reported from Warring States Period (c. 340 BCE) through Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).

Relationships

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Sources

Source passages

“Pangu Yeren Druon Antigoon”

#4529 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“Owing to their mysterious yet humanlike atmosphere, the yeren became a popular symbol in fiction writing of wildness and savagery. Kidnapping stories from antiquity have inspired modern, though usually far less graphic, imaginative retellings. Among the more popular was Song Youxing's A Yeren Seeks a Mate which erotically described an attractive female yeren”

#8875 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001