It is used to refer to one of the four evil creatures of the world 四凶; sì xiōng: a greedy and gluttonous son of the Jinyun clan, who lived during the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor.

"[5] It is hard to explain what is implied in this, as so many myths concerning the taotie have been lost, but the indication that it eats people accords fully with its cruel, fearful countenance.

It is for precisely this reason that the savage old myths and legends, the tales of barbarism, and the crude, fierce, and terrifying works of art of ancient clans possessed a remarkable aesthetic appeal.

Modern academics favor an interpretation that supports the idea that the faces have meaning in a religious or ceremonial context, as the objects they appear on are almost always associated with such events or roles.

[9] During the Ming dynasty, a number of scholars compiled lists of traditional motifs seen in architecture and applied art, which eventually became codified as the Nine sons of the dragon.

[10] However, a well-known later list of the Nine Children of the Dragon given by Yang Shen (1488–1559) accords with both the ancient and the modern usage of the term: The taotie likes to eat and drink; it used to appear on the surface of the dings.

[11]The historian Luo Bi [zh], of the Southern Song dynasty, connected the Taotie motif to Chiyou, writing in the Lushi that the Yellow Emperor "cut his head off; and for this reason sages later cast his portrait on bronzes to warn the greedy.

[13] In the film, they are depicted as green-skinned quadrupedal alien creatures, with shark-like teeth, eyes located on their shoulders, and the Tao Tie motif visible on their heads.