T'AO-T'IEH

Pinyin Taotie awesome monster mask commonly found on Chinese ritual bronze vessels and implements of the Shang (18th12th century Bc) and early Chou (1111c. 900 BC) dynasties. It characteristically consists of a zoomorphic mask in full face that simultaneously may be divided through the nose ridge of the centre to form profile views of two one-legged beasts (k'uei dragons) confronting each other. A ground pattern of squared spirals, the thunder pattern (lei-wen), often serves as a design filler between and around the larger features of the design. Typical features of the mask include large, protuberant eyes; stylized depictions of eyebrows, horns, nose crest, ears, and two peripheral legs; and a line of a curled upper lip with exposed fangs and no lower jaw. Since it suggests an ever-devouring glutton, it was probably this last feature that later (3rd century BC) inspired the name t'ao-t'ieh for the ancient monster motif. The function of the t'ao-t'ieh motif has been variously interpreted; it may be totemic, or protective, or an abstracted, symbolic representation of the forces of nature. After the early Chou period, the t'ao-t'ieh mask motif was supplanted by a monster that was similar but depicted more literally and with diminished power.