a strange or otherworldly nature, attractiveness and beauty, and the ability to seduce or compel, and their association with ill-omens or misfortune. Typical powers ascribed to them include shapeshifting, the creation of illusions to lead astray, and mind control for the purposes of seduction or enthrallment. In their tendencies and powers, they have some resemblance to the fairies of European lore. However, the 妖 often partake or share in the essential nature of an animal or a plant (a vixen, a snake, a butterfly, or a tree or a flower), is capable of assuming human or near-human form and of wielding supernatural powers, as well as developing other abilities due to Taoist cultivation. Yaoguai (妖怪) are distinct creatures from ghosts (鬼, pinyin: gui) and demons (魔, pinyin: mo). Ghosts are the spirits of the deceased, whereas demons are often described as fallen immortals and gods. Famous yaoguai in Chinese mythology include: Baigujing: literally, "skeleton spirit" Niumowang: literally, "bull demon king" Pipa Jing and Jiutou Zhiji Jing in Fengshen Yanyi Sun Wukong (the Monkey King and protagonist) uses this term often to insult his (demonic) adversaries. Instigation The birth of these creatures is described as being due to human activity which disrupts the normative order. Natural phenomena (including inauspicious omens and signs, natural disasters, etc.) are correlated to human conduct in traditional Chinese thinking. Disturbances in the moral order either cause, stimulate, or evoke disturbances in the world of phenomena. The operative principle is either moralistic - the retributive punishment of Heaven, or naturalistic - the concept of stimulus-response (also known as "sympathetic resonance"). The latter is a connective principle according to which like-begets-like and the musical analogy of resonating strings is often used. According to the classic text the Zuo Zhuan, "when people lack constancy or engage in strange or abnormal behavior, then this leads to the emergence of the yao" ("人弃常则妖兴"). In the literary text, Investiture of the Gods, the fox-sprite Daji is sent on a mission by the goddess Nuwa, to corrupt the last king of the Shang and to instigate the fall of his dynasty, as punishment for the latter composing a ribald poem. In Journey to the West, the demons seek this mostly by the abduction and consumption of a holy man (in this case, Tang Sanzang). Not all yaojing are actually demons; some others are of quite unusual origins. In the case of Baigujing, she