Animal demons as humans: Sex, gender, and boundary crossings in Six Dynasties zhiguai literature (China)

Chinese literature abounds with stories of various creatures that assume human form and interact with human beings. This dissertation looks at anomaly accounts of animal demons that change into humans (bianxing zhiguai) taken mainly from collections compiled in the Six Dynasties period (220–580 C.E.). It looks at what those accounts may have signified to the people of that time and what they have to say about perceptions of gender and gender roles. Unlike similar stories from other times and other cultures, these bianxing zhiguai were written as historical accounts—as horrifying events that actually happened to real people. The phenomena of transformations between various creatures were seen as portents that tied the workings of the larger, natural world here on earth and in the cosmos to the rule of human kings and emperors. The interaction between the animal demons and the humans carry messages about desire, sex, and excess, as well as what it meant to be human. These bianxing zhiguai, written in times of constant warfare, political upheaval, and chaos reflect the turmoil of the times and point to a lack of control over the human body as both a sign and cause of that chaos.