KUEI

Pinyin Gui, type of Chinese bronze vessel produced during the Shang (18th12th century Bc ) and Chou (1111255 BC) dynasties. There are many varieties of the kuei, which is a wide-mouthed container for food, but the typical form consists of a ring base and an ample, bowl-shaped body with slightly rounded sides. The vessel probably often had a lid. The kuei shape is known in pottery of the Neolithic Period (c. 30001500 BC). In the bronze art of the Shang dynasty, the kuei commonly has four lugs (ear-shaped protuberances) equally spaced on a decorative band just below the rim. As the shape developed in the Chou dynasty, the lugs were replaced by two and sometimes four sturdy handles, often modeled with fanciful animal motifs. A substantial, boxlike stand often anchored the vessel in the Chou period. Pinyin Gui (Chinese: ghost, or demon), in indigenous Chinese religion, a troublesome spirit that roams the world causing misfortune, illness, and death. Kuei are spirits of individuals who were not properly buried or whose families neglected the proper memorial offerings; they lack the means to ascend to the spirit world, hence their malevolent disposition. In traditional China, numerous protective rituals and talismans were devised to ward kuei away from the family abode, and the main entrance was usually screened by a protective shadow wall. See also shen.