Mythic Parallels
In addition to the Kui 夔, Chinese mythology has other uniped creatures. Based on "one-legged" descriptions, Carr (1990:143) compares kui with chi 螭 "hornless dragon; mountain demon" and hui 虺 "snake; python". The Shanhaijing (tr. Birrell 1999:15, 25, 121) mentions three one-footed creatures. The "Bellow-pot" bird "which looks like an owl; it has a human face but only one foot"; the "Endsquare" bird "which looks like a crane; it has one foot, scarlet markings on a green background, and a white beak"; and
Softsharp Country lies east of the Country of Oneeye. Its people have only one hand and only one foot. Their knees turn backwards so that their foot sticks up in the air. One author states that this is Keepsharp Country, and that the single foot of the people there turns backwards because it is broken.
Two other personages named Kui in Chinese folklore are Kui Xing 魁星 "the dwarfish god of examinations" and Zhong Kui 鍾馗 "the vanquisher of ghosts and demons".
One-footed or one-legged Kui has further parallels in comparative mythology. For instance:
- Empusa "one-footed", a demigoddess in Greek mythology
- Monocoli "one foot" or Sciapod "shadow foot", a fabled race of people with one large foot and one center leg in Greek mythology
- Ippon-datara 一本踏鞴 "one foot-bellows", a one-legged mountain spirit in Japanese mythology (cf. Nūbē Characters)
- Patasola "one foot", a vampire-like humanoid in Colombian folklore
- Saci, a one-legged nature-spirit in Brazilian folklore
Read more about this topic: Kui (Chinese Mythology)
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