Youyou, horse-shaped beast with sheep eyes and four horns, Qing Shanhaijing painted manuscript
The horse shape, sheep-like eyes, four horns and omen of crafty visitors match Youyou’s notice at Mount Zhen. The manuscript’s unusual written name and locality are retained on the page rather than silently regularized; its colouring belongs to the anonymous Qing artist.
Overview
Youyou is the horse-shaped beast of Mount Zhen in the Shanhaijing’s second eastern itinerary. It has sheep-like eyes, four horns, and an ox’s tail. Its voice resembles a barking dog. Its appearance is connected with an increase of deceitful or crafty visitors in the state. That unusual social omen is distinct from the floods and droughts attached to many other creatures.
The same mountain contains Jiegou, a tree-climbing duck-like bird with a mouse’s tail. The bird’s epidemic omen does not belong to Youyou. Four horns are directly numbered in the land beast’s description, whereas the number of eyes is not changed from the sheep comparison. The entry contains no named guest, deception plot, or transformation into a person. It records a composite equine body and an attributed sign concerning human affairs.
Origins & earliest records
China; Shanhaijing Eastern Mountains
Records & interpretation
Specific named primary-text transcription directly read; historical plate not assigned yet.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Shanhaijing, Eastern Mountains
Second eastern itinerary; Mount Zhen
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Shanhaijing
Eastern Mountains. Second eastern itinerary; Mount Zhen
Named received-primary passage directly read: 其狀如馬，而羊目、四角、牛尾. Historical scan not yet matched.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary text transcriptionShanhaijing Eastern Mountains received primary textResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
Historical manuscript illustrationYouyou, horse-shaped beast with sheep eyes and four horns, Qing Shanhaijing painted manuscript
The horse shape, sheep-like eyes, four horns and omen of crafty visitors match Youyou’s notice at Mount Zhen. The manuscript’s unusual written name and locality are retained on the page rather than silently regularized; its colouring belongs to the anonymous Qing artist.
