- Chinese mythology is a rich and varied tradition with influences from Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

Similar to other cultural mythologies, the tails were often considered actual history; featuring villains and heroes and some beings that defy categorization.

One such figure is the Taotie, the most enduring of the four evils of Chinese myth.

Despite the consistent descriptions of sharp teeth, strong claws, and a notoriously voracious appetite, this monster's genesis remains elusive.

Yet, it also happens to share a name with one of the most famous motifs in Ancient Chinese Art.

So, how did the bulging eyes and gaping mouth of the Taotie design on bronze vessels turn into the Taotie monster that's still intrigues us today?

Did I also mention it represents greed and gluttony?

(triumphant music) I'm Dr. Emily Zarka, and this is "Monstrum."

Long before its appearance in written history, the Taotie existed in another documented form: Ancient Chinese Art.

From the very start of the Bronze Age, the Taotie featured prominently in the patterns, lines, and ornaments of bronze items, precursors to written storytelling.

These beast-face designs, later called the Taotie motif, were symmetrical representations of non-human creatures that famously dominated Bronze Art as early as the Shang Dynasty and enduring into the Zhou Dynasties from roughly 1600 to 256 BCE.

Often, these faces were rendered using a multiple perspective approach, combining the profile views of other animals to form a central zoomorphic image or beast.

The style is defined by its two round bulging eyes, a gaping mouth that often featured no lower jaw, heavy eyebrows, ears, and sometimes horns.

Naturally, there are no written records of what this Bronze Age iconography was called when they were created or what purpose the design served.

Archeologists, historians, and other scholars have pieced together plausible explanations and generated likely narratives.

But as with all ancient scholarship, this leaves ample room for variations and disagreement.

In fact, many scholars argue that the Taotie design originated far earlier: in Neolithic times; citing images of the Taotie beast face across multiple artistic forms, including jade objects.

Either way, the Taotie beast face is one of the earliest monstrous forms found in Chinese Art.

So, what might the Taotie have represented?

Experts present several theories; many of which revolve around the Ancient Chinese religious tradition of ancestor worship.

Some argue that the Taotie designs depict the animal helpers of male and female shamans who aided communication between the living and the dead.

Other scholars assert that they are a depiction of masks that were worn to symbolize ancestor spirits.

And still, others diverged a bit and suggests that the Taotie may represent even older beliefs in nature deities and spirits.

Of course, there are some scholars who say it's just an ornamental pattern and not much else, but where's the fun in that?

This theory ignores the very history of how the bronze vessels came to be, who commissioned them, the artisans who made them, and why.

Bronze Age artisans created these Chinese vessels under the employment of rich and powerful patrons, often royalty and nobility.

Thus, the Taotie, a frequent figure on such items, might also have served as a status symbol meant to evoke the owner's social class.

This interpretation holds up, especially when you consider that beginning in the Warring States period, the word Taotie came to mean glutton.

Further, many of these bronze vessels were commissioned not for just any wealthy patrons, but for the Shang Dynasty kings themselves.

These kings believed to have gods as their ancestors; maintained their power through conquest, and battle, and successful harvest.

Sacrificial offerings to the king's ancestral deities and to the supreme deity, Di, were collected from lesser nobles in the form of processions, spoils from hunts, and animal and human sacrifice.

The bronze vessels used in such tributes, ones that were adorned with early images of Taotie, were of utmost importance, being fundamental to the rituals, and thus instrumental in politics and even the overall economy.

In fact, bronze-making skills were honed almost exclusively around ornamental pursuits rather than functional efforts, like weapons or agricultural tools.

And so, we can infer that the image of the Taotie with its fangs, horns, and large eyes was an integral component of early Chinese ceremonial and religious... Over time, Taotie bronze vessels developed connections to food for humans too.

The feast of Ancient China were notorious.

In the Zhou Dynasty, after the Bronze Age, it was estimated that for some time, 60% of the ruling king servants were dedicated to food-related duties even as the majority of the population lived with chronic deprivation and even starvation.

The filling of a bronze vessel with sacrificial food or food for a feast associated the Taotie motif with abundance and underscored that having enough to share was a sign of good manners and social inclusion.

The association of the word Taotie with gluttony did not emerge until after this period, in the last three periods of the Zhou Dynasty, when the outbreak of war meant feeding one's soldiers became more of a priority than feasting.

And further strain was placed on food supplies.

The Taotie motif on the bronze vessels may have been seen as a sign of extravagance, something to be avoided during war time.

It's no surprise then that the artistic rendering of the Taotie face ended up inspiring mythology in the form of the Taotie monster.

One of the four legendary monsters or malevolences of Chinese mythology.

In Chinese mythology, depictions of monsters served an instructive or even protective purpose and could be portrayed repelling evil or helping humans avoid real dangers.

Creatures like the Taotie were considered real and mythological, capable of occupying either or both states.

That said, the mythological version of Taotie with its insatiable appetite and incredible greed definitely inspired fear as it offered instruction.

I mean, they were said to be man-devouring beasts after all.

Written narratives of the Taotie monster began to appear around the 4th century BCE, starting with the Zuo tradition or Zuo's commentary, which also happens to be the first complete narrative work in Chinese literature.

As the story goes, in Ancient Times, two of the ruling gods had eight virtuous sons each, and three other gods had one worthless son each: Hundun, Qiongqi, and Taowu.

These, in turn, were the three evils, malevolences, who maliciousness passed down through the generations until the time of emperor Yao, a legendary ruler in Chinese mythology.

During Yao's reign, a fourth evil son, greedy for food and drink, was born to the Jinyun clan.

This one could never be satisfied.

He hoarded food, refusing to share with even those most desperate for charity.

He was called Taotie and became the fourth malevolence.

Luckily, Emperor Yao's minister expelled these four malevolences and their clans to the four edges of the earth; one in each cardinal direction, tasking them with warding off demons and bad spirits.

Like most myths, there are variations, including one from Ming Dynasty scholar Yang Shen, who wrote in this text that Taotie is one of the nine children of the dragon who liked to eat and drink to excess.

Different origin story, same defining traits.

In the "Guideways through Mountains and Seas" or "Classic of Mountains and Seas," a comprehensive text of Chinese mythology, geography, nature, and bestiary.

We find another Taotie-like being.

In the text, there's a creature called the Piao Xu.

It has a goat's body with a human's face, eyes behind its armpits, Tiger's teeth, and human hands.

It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater, quite the combination of features.

Composed between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, all of the strange creatures depicted in this comprehensive text were believed to actually exist, and it was us humans job to live among them safely.

While the earliest Taotie bronze images don't seem to resemble this monster at all, Chinese philosopher and scholar Guo Pu, considered an expert on the text, insists that this is the same Taotie mentioned in Zuo's commentary, leading many scholars to agree.

Outside of Chinese relics, Yu-Gi-Oh, and a few video games, Physical depictions of the Taotie are largely limited in modern culture.

In fact, Taotie graced the silver screen for the first time in the 2016 film, "The Great Wall."

Though, it is portrayed as an alien-reptilian species with dark green skin and sharp teeth, the body markings are similar to the pattern seen in ancient bronze Chinese vessels.

And the name Tao Tie is similar enough.

We can roll our eyes at Matt Damon's man bun, but in many ways, this movie is another example of how traditional monster legends can be adapted to fit modern narratives and modern audiences.

I also see some historical legitimacy in the adaptation.

The green skin reminds me of the Neolithic jade figures with Taotie-like decorative design.

And some of the Tao Tie soldiers have human-like hands, Tiger's teeth, and eyes near their shoulders, calling to mind the creature from "Classic of Mountains and Seas."

The queen of the species in the film even has horns, again, paying homage to the early Taotie bronze motifs.

As for their motivation... - To feed.

- Pure Taotie.

The director of the film has even acknowledged ancient inspiration for his gluttonous creatures.

And gluttony is a timeless theme.

The Taotie arose from visual motifs, not only oral or written stories which not only makes its original evolution unique, but demonstrates how the evolution of mythology and monsters is fluid.

The Taotie is such a good example of how mythology is always changing.

Visuals can construct meaning and in this example, the evolution from art to monster by way of mythology can end with a timeless warning against overconsumption.