This distinction is key to understanding any discourse on gui. All humans thus become gui, as a rule temporarily. In Chinese culture, all human beings, after they die, are separated into distinct entities: the corpse and the more spiritual elements (“souls”), called gui as long as they have not reached a ontological status (reincarnation, divinization, etc.). Abstract: The term gui 鬼, often translated as « ghost » does not correspond to the Christian/Western concept of ghost. Through a closer examination of some of the characters, it is the aim of this article to consider the reasons for their fiendish aspect and to explore how their iconographical feat ures shaped audiences' understanding of their overlapping identities.Ĭhinese theology of the netherworld: visions of the dead in Yuli baochao (19th c.). Providing an inventory of wretchedness, degradation and physical affliction, his figures are indeed often shown with a combination of human and demonic visual features. Zhou Chen's now famous Beggars and Street Characters, painted in Suzhou in 1516, might have been informed by contemporary practices surrounding ritual expulsions of this kind. In particular, at the end of the lunar year, beggars and the local poor dressed up like ghosts and demons and executed exorcism dances to drive out threatening malevolent forces and start the new year afresh. In order to expel or cope with ghosts and malevolent spirits, local communities staged a wide range of apotropaic or prophylactic ritual performances, which often involved street beggars or beggar households (gaihu) in the Suzhou area. Both were considered marginal beings, dangerous and capable of harm and disruption if ignored. In China, beggars and other marginal and displaced figures with no clear social place or identity have long been associated with ghosts an demons.

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