Nian
Also called Nianshou.
In Chinese folklore, the Nian is a ferocious beast that emerges once a year to prey on villagers and livestock, and whose vulnerability to loud noise, fire, and the color red is the folk origin cited for the customs of Chinese New Year.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Chinese mythology
- Trait family
- The False Hosts
Near this figure
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Hybrid of multiple animals
why
sometimes lion-like or dragon-like
Behaviour
- Annual seasonal attack
why
In Chinese folklore, the Nian is a ferocious beast that emerges once a year to prey on villagers and livestock, and whose vulnerability to loud noise, fire, and the color red is the folk origin cited for the customs of Chinese New Year.
- Repelled by noise fire and color
why
In Chinese folklore, the Nian is a ferocious beast that emerges once a year to prey on villagers and livestock, and whose vulnerability to loud noise, fire, and the color red is the folk origin cited for the customs of Chinese New Year.
- Befriended becomes powerful ally
why
it is said to have been subdued or taken away by a Daoist immortal and made into a mount or companion, a rationalizing addition that sits alongside the older raid-and-repel narrative rather than replacing it.
Offensive powers
- Ambush predation
why
The Nian is a beast of Chinese folklore said to have lived either deep in the mountains or beneath the sea, emerging on the eve of the new year to attack villages, devouring livestock and, in some tellings, people, and children in particular.
- Devouring
why
The Nian is a beast of Chinese folklore said to have lived either deep in the mountains or beneath the sea, emerging on the eve of the new year to attack villages, devouring livestock and, in some tellings, people, and children in particular.
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.