Chi (mythology)
The Shuowen Jiezi (121 CE), which was the first Chinese dictionary of characters, gives chī 离, 螭, and 魑 definitions.
He additionally hypothesized the *xlia 离 phonetic was cognate with shen < *[ly]yěn 神 "spirit; god" from Proto-Tibeto-Burman *[s-l]-rin < *[s-]rin.
Two contexts mention xuanchi 玄螭 "dark/black hornless-dragon";[10] "They lined water monsters up to join them in the dance";[11] and "Driving black dragons, I travel northwards."
"[16] The "Records of the Grand Historian" (c. 100 BCE) biography of Sima Xiangru includes two of his fu 賦 poems that mention chichi 赤螭 "red hornless dragons.
However, a possible explanation might be found in the Hanshu (揚雄傳) commentary of Wei Zhao, which describes the chi 螭 demon as "resembling a tiger with scales".
De Groot provides a picture of a sepulchral stone tablet decorated with a chi and the Gujin Tushu Jicheng illustration of this hornless dragon.
Both modern Chinese and Japanese normally use "ghost radical" 鬼 characters to write chīmèi 魑魅 and wangliang or mōryō 魍魎, but these were not regularly used in classical texts.
The former (文公18;[21]) refers to the Sixiong 四凶 "Four Fiends" (Hundun 渾敦, Qiongqi 窮奇, Taowu 檮杌, and Taotie 饕餮); the legendary ruler Shun, "banished these four wicked ones, Chaos, Monster, Block, and Glutton, casting them out into the four distant regions, to meet the spite of the sprites and evil things".
Du Yu's commentary glosses chimei as "born in the strange qi of mountains and forests, harmful to humans".
The latter context only mentions the villainous Taowu: "The ancient kings located T'aou-wuh in [one of] the four distant regions, to encounter the sprites and other evil things.
"[22] The chimei-wangliang 螭魅罔兩 context records how Yu the Great, legendary founder of the Xia dynasty, cast nine instructional bronze ding "tripod cauldrons" to acquaint people with all the dangerous creatures in China's Nine Provinces.
All the objects were represented, and [instructions were given] of the preparations to be made in reference to them, so that the people might know the sprites and evil things.
Based upon the chishou 螭首 "hornless-dragon head" roof adornment, Kroll translates chi as wyvern, "a footed winged dragon with a serpent's tail, becoming in medieval times an oft-pictured heraldic beast.
