merfolk

Merfolk or merpeople are legendary water-dwelling human-like beings. They are attested in folklore and mythology throughout the ages in various parts of the world.

Female merfolk may be referred to as mermaids, although in a strict sense mermaids are confined to beings who are half-woman and half-fish in appearance. Male merfolk are called mermen. Depending on the story, they can be described as ugly or beautiful.

Chinese ''renyu'' () stands for "merfolk", but in ancient geographical or natural historical tracts, this referred to "human-fish" or "man-fish" purported to inhabit rivers or lakes in certain parts of China. Japanese '' ningyo'' () is also "merfolk", and also applied to various human-like fish recorded in writings from medieval times into the Edo Period.

China

Certain fantastical types of "fish", generically referred to as ''renyu'' (, "human-fish") is alleged to occur in various parts of China according to the ''Shan Hai Jing'' (''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', 4th century BC). It is mentioned in the ''Bei Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the Northern mountains"), ''Zhong Shan Jing'' (Central Mountains), and ''Xi Shan Jing'' (Western Mountains) sections of this work.

This work and others also mention several additional types of "anthropomorphic fish" with limbs in other regions such as the (; "red ru fish") and (; "hill-fish"), considered to be in the same category of creatures. Certain tribes or races of humans were also described being part-fish, namely the .

It is recorded that the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor was illuminated with lamps fueled by the oil of the human-fish (''renyu''), whose flames were meant to last a very long time.

''Renyu'' or human-fish

;(aka ''haieryu''. subtypes ''tiyu'' and ''niyu'' )

The ''renyu'' (; human-fish) is described in the ''Bei Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the North Mountains") section as dwelling on Mt. Longhou (, "Dragon-Marquis Mountain") in the waters of the Jueshui (, "Bursting River"), which flows eastward into the Yellow River. It is said to "resemble the ''tiyu''" (translated as "resemble catfish") possess four legs, with a voice like baby crying.

Eating the fish purportedly cured idiocy or dementia. This fish as a cure was also quoted in the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or '' Bencao Gangmu'' (1596) under its entry for ''Tiyu'' ( zh, 䱱魚)

The '' Bencao Gangmu'' categorized the ''tiyu'' () as one of two types of "human-fish" (''renyu''). The human-fish were also known as "child-fish" or ''haieryu'' (; ).

The other type, called the ''niyu'' () is elaborated in a separate section. It has been noted by Li Shizhen that the character for the ''Niyu'' (''Ni'' fish) consists of the "fish" indexing component () and "child" () radical.

Translators of the ''Bencao Gangmu'' attempt to match entries with actual taxa of animals, forbs, etc., where possible, and the ''tiyu'' type is glossed as "newts" while the ''niyu'' type is " Chinese giant salamander".

''Chiru'' or red ru fish

The (; "red ru fish". Wade-Giles: ''ch'ih-ju''; "red ju") is described in the ''Nan Shan Jing'' ("Classic of the Southern Mountains") as a human-headed fish. It is said to be found in the Qingqushan ( "Green-Hills Mountains") in the Pool-of-Yi (Yì zhī zé ; "Carp-Wings Lake"). It is described as basically fish-form but having a human face, and issuing sounds like the mandarin duck. Eating it purportedly prevented scabies or itchy skin.

The illustration of the ''chiru'' from China may have influenced the legless, human-faced fish visualization of some of the ''ningyo'' in Japan, according to the hypothesis of .

Jiaoren

The '' jiaoren'' ( " flood dragon people" or "shark people") that appear in medieval writings are considered to be references to merfolk.

This mythical southern mermaid or merman is recorded in 's "Records of Strange Things" (early 6th century CE).

In the midst of the South Sea are the houses of the ''kău'' () people who dwell in the water like fish, but have not given up weaving at the loom. Their eyes have the power to weep, but what they bring forth is pearls.

Similar passages appear in other texts such as the '' Bowuzhi'' (, "Treatise of Manifold " ) as "weep ngtears that became pearls".

These aquatic people supposedly spun a type of raw silk called ''jiaoxiao'' "mermaid silk" or ''jiaonujuan'' "mermaid woman's silk". Schafer equates this with sea silk, the rare fabric woven from byssus filaments produced by Pinna "pen shell" mollusks.

Japan

The ''ningyo'' ( "human-fish") of Japan has its own history in the country's literary record. The earliest references (in the '' Nihon shoki'', entry for year 619, reign of Empress Suiko) do not specifically use the term ''ningyo'', and the "thing" appeared in fresh water (a river in Ōmi Province, canal Settsu Province), and may presumed to be a giant salamander. Later accounts claim that Empress Suiko's regent Prince Shōtoku knew the creature to be a ''ningyo'' when one was presented to him by representatives of Ōmi. The appearance of the human-fish was strongly associated with ill omen in later treatments of the Prince's encounter with the human-fish.

During the Kamakura Period, ''ningyo'' of the marine sort were frequently reported as washing ashore, and these were taken to be ominous signs usually prefiguring bloody battles.

The ''ningyo'', or rather ''renyu'' and the like found in Chinese sources (''chiru'', ''tiyu'' etc., etc., discussed above) were also discussed in Japanese literature, for example, works of scholars of herbal and traditional medicine, such as Kaibara Ekiken (d. 1714) and Ono Ranzan (d. 1810), who also aware of European discussions on "sirens", "anthropomorphic fish", "''peixe muller'' (fish-woman)", etc.

In popular culture

* Merfolk are a fictional race of humanoids that live underwater in ''Dungeons & Dragons''.
* Merfolk are humanoid aquatic creatures with fish-like characteristics in '' Magic: The Gathering''.
* Merfolk are humanoid aquatic creatures with fish-like characteristics in ''Spectromancer''.
* In ''One Piece'', the Merfolk are among the different races in the anime and one of the two types that dwell underwater (the other being the Fishmen). Each of the Merfolk has their "fish" parts based on different fishes and related creatures like coelacanths, icefish, kissing gouramis, Japanese rice fish, striped beakfish, righteye flounders, olive flounders, blue-striped angelfish, smelt-whitings, sharks, oarfish, opahs, blue-ringed octopuses, shortfin mako sharks, seahorses, catfish, Bering wolffish, goldfish, and brotulas.

See also

* Mer (disambiguation)
* Naiad, female spirits of Greek mythology
* Nixie, water spirits of Germanic (especially Scandinavian) folklore
* Piscine humanoid
* Rusalka, female spirits of Slavic folklore

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{{Fantasy fiction

Mythological human hybrids
Mythological aquatic creatures