Category: China Culture Guides

Tao Tie (饕餮), also known as Pao Xiao (狍鸮), is a vicious and gluttonous beast in ancient Chinese mythology, one of the four great beasts. Tao Tie is a monster told in ancient Chinese mythology, and it is known as one of the Four Great Beasts, along with “Qiong Qi”, “táo wù” and “Hun Dun (Chaos)”. According to an ancient book called “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”, Tao Tie looks like a goat with a human face on its body, its eyes are under the armpits, it has the teeth of a tiger and the claws of a human being, and the sound it makes is like a little baby crying. It is particularly good at eating, and eats whatever it sees, even human beings. There is a saying that because it ate so much, it eventually ate up even its own body, leaving a big head and a super-sized mouth. Therefore, people take it to be a symbol of greed, and it is often used to describe people who are gluttonous or insatiable.…