Wangliang

Wangliang
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese魍魎
Simplified Chinese魍魉
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinwǎngliǎng
Wade–Gileswang-liang
Middle Chinese
Middle ChinesemjangXljangX
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)maŋʔp.raŋʔ
Korean name
Hangul망량
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationmangnyang
McCune–Reischauermangnyang
Japanese name
Kanji魍魎
Hiraganaもうりょう
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburnmōryō

In Chinese folklore, a wangliang (Chinese: 魍魎; pinyin: wǎngliǎng or Chinese: 罔兩) is a type of malevolent spirit. Interpretations of the wangliang include a wilderness spirit, similar to the kui, a water spirit akin to the Chinese dragon, a fever demon like the yu (; "a poisonous three-legged turtle"), a graveyard ghost also called wangxiang (罔象) or fangliang (方良), and a man-eating demon described as resembling a 3-year-old child with brown skin, red eyes, long ears, and beautiful hair.