Penghou 2745404 145578049 2007-07-19T02:24:40Z Tobosha 4853682 ja [[Image:SekienHoko.jpg|thumb|155px|right|The ''hōkō'' as imagined by [[Toriyama Sekien]]. ]] The '''Pénghoú''' (彭侯) is a tree spirit from [[China|Chinese]] [[folklore]]. It is described in an old book called the [[Soushenji]] (搜神記, English "In Search of the Supernatural"): :''The P'eng-hou in the [[Camphor Laurel|Camphor Tree]]'' :In the time of the First Ruler of Wu, Lu Ching-shu was Grand Protector of Chien-an Commandery. Once he dispatched a man to cut down a great camphor tree. Few strokes of the axe had fallen before blood suddenly flowed from the trunk. When it was finally felled, a creature with the face of a man and the body of a dog came forth. :Ching-shu explained, "This is what is known as the ''p'eng-hou.''" He had it steamed forthwith and ate it. Its flavor was the same as dog-meat. :The ''Pai-tse T'u''* says: "The spirit of trees is called ''p'eng-hou.'' It appears much like a black dog with no tail and can be steamed and eaten. <nowiki>*</nowiki>The long lost tome of the [[Bai Ze]]. The ''Pénghoú'' (read in Japanese as '''Hōkō''') was included in the [[Konjaku Hyakki Shūi]], one of [[Toriyama Sekien]]'s collections of monster illustrations. Sekien gave it the same description as the Soushenji, as well as having it live in a thousand-year-old tree. ==References== *{{cite book | last = Gan | first = Bao | coauthors = Kenneth J. DeWoskin and J. I. Crump, Jr., translators. | title = In Search of the Supernatural: The Written Record | publisher = [[Stanford University Press]] | date = 1996 | pages = p. 215 | id = ISBN 0-8047-2506-3 }} *[http://www.nichibun.ac.jp/YoukaiCard/3200027.shtml Kaii*Yōkai Denshō Database: Hōkō] *[http://park.org/Japan/CSK/hyakki/zukan/jyuui/kumo/houkou.html|CSK: Hyakki Yagyō: Hōkō] {{China-myth-stub}} {{Japan-myth-stub}} [[Category:Japanese legendary creatures]] [[Category:Chinese legendary creatures]] [[fr:Houkou]] [[no:Houkou]] [[ja:彭侯]]