The Monstrefact: The Nine Faces of Death

In this episode of STBYM’s The Monstrefact, Robert discusses the mythological Chinese monster known as the Nine Faces of Death… 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and this is the
Monster Fact, a short form series from Stuff to Blow
Your Mind, focusing on un mythical creatures, ideas and monsters.
In time, I'd like to return once more to the
world of Chinese mythology and legend. In this episode, you
might remember our previous discussion of Chiseltooth, a monstrous ogre

(00:34):
ultimately slain by the mighty archer Oh Ye. Well, today
we have another unnatural creature that only Ye or another
suitable hero or god was capable of slaying the Nine
faces of death. It's another being detailed in the Classic
of Mountains and Seas of the Shanghai Jing, which you

(00:55):
might remember us recording an episode of Stuff to Blow
Your Mind about, and as Shooting Need describes in the
excellent book Chinese Myths, the entity's name Jiu Ying or
nine Infants doesn't quite convey the true monstrosity of the creature,
because this creature does present you with the heads of
nine infants, but these heads are attached to a monstrous

(01:18):
green or black serpentine body. Each head inflicts one of
the nine pains, burning, corroding, freezing, drowning, blinding, poisoning, violence, destruction,
and cruelty. The anbural translation of the Shanghaijing translates the
monster's name as aid Willem. It is also known as

(01:39):
sheng Lu. This is the name astronomers give the only
known moon of the dwarf planet twenty two five eight
eight Gongong, itself named for the Chinese water god. Fort
Is said that Chu Ying was once a minister of
the water god, but has left to fend for itself
after Gongong's defeat and divine battle. And so the nine

(02:01):
headed monster roamed the earth, feeding with its nine heads
from the nine mountains, leaving toxic swamps, gorgeous famine, and
devastation in its wake. It helped bring about the Great Flood,
and neither Heaven nor Hell would permit the creature's entry,
according to n and so it was left to the
mighty archer Ye to slay the creature. In the Handbook

(02:23):
of Chinese Mythology by Yang at All, the authors attribute
the monster's slaying, at least in some versions, to You
the Great, the legendary ruler and tamer of floods. After
its slaying, the monster's foul blood is said to have
corrupted the very earth that it spilled upon, and so
you dug out the soil three times and built a
terrace for the gods on Kunlun Mountain out of the excavations.

(02:47):
The authors here add that some orally transmitted versions of
the tale hold that the monster survived as more of
a nine headed dragon, only to ultimately meet its death
at the hands of the creator. God es new why
whoever it's slayter, it is clear that the nine phases
of death are no match for bravery, ingenuity, and creative power.

(03:10):
Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week.
As always, you can email us at contact at stuff
to Blow Your Mind dot.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.