The niu tou ma mian (traditional Chinese: 牛頭馬面; simplified Chinese: 牛头马面; pinyin: niú tóu mǎ miàn; Wade–Giles: niu t'ou ma mien; literally "ox head and horse face") are the guards of the Underworld. They have the heads of an ox and a horse but the bodies of men, hence their names. Like the Heibai Wuchang, they are in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the Underworld. They are usually depicted as armed with pitchforks and carrying metal chains to bind spirits. The idea of the niu tou ma mian originated from the Song Dynasty tale Transmission of the Lamp.
Read more about this topic: List Of Supernatural Beings In Chinese Folklore