Taotie

The Glutton

A voracious beast with a goat's body and human face whose ravenous image was cast onto Shang and Zhou ritual bronzes as a warning.

The Shanhaijing describes a beast on Gouwu Mountain "with a goat's body and human face, eyes under its armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, crying like a baby — it devours humans." Identified as the taotie, it was listed among the "Four Fiends." Its fierce, wide-eyed mask became the iconic taotie motif of ancient bronze vessels.