📖 Meaning
Literally 'ox-headed ghosts and snake-bodied spirits' — bizarre, fantastical creatures. It is used as a metaphor for all sorts of sinister and wicked people in society, a motley assortment of villains and evildoers.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the preface that the Tang dynasty writer Du Mu (杜牧) wrote for the collected poems of the Tang poet Li He (李贺, styled Changji). In the preface, Du Mu praised Li He's poetry for its extraordinary imagination, writing that even 'whales gulping water, giant turtles leaping, ox-headed ghosts and snake-bodied spirits' could not rival the surreal and fantastical quality of his verse. Originally the phrase described grotesque yet vivid literary imagery celebrating Li He's poetic genius. Over time it shifted from describing fantastical imagination to becoming a metaphor for all kinds of bad and dangerous people in society.
💡 Example Usage
这些牛鬼蛇神趁机作乱，扰乱社会秩序。
These villains seized the opportunity to stir up trouble and disrupt social order.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 牛鬼蛇神
- Pinyin: niú guǐ shé shén
- Literal Translation: ox, ghost, snake, spirit
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4