Shennongjia — the yeren, the wild man of Hubei

OVERVIEW

The yeren ('wild man') is an apeman said to live in China's remote mountains, most famously the Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei. The earliest written reports come from Fang County, 90 km north.

HISTORY

In 1555 the Fang County gazette described yeren sheltering in mountain caves and preying on dogs and chickens. Under Mao such stories were discouraged as superstition. In 1974 the official Li Jian recorded local testimonies, the oldest from 1945; in 1976 scientists took an interest, and in 1977 Zhou Guoxing led a large Chinese Academy of Sciences expedition into Shennongjia. The China Wildman Research Society formed in 1981 and offered ¥5,000 for a body, ¥10,000 alive. 'Yeren fever' may have helped bring about the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve in 1983.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

LEGEND. No serious scientific institution recognises the yeren; scientific interest had faded by the late 1980s. Every body, hair and footprint put forward came from known animals — humans, bears, macaques, goral, serow — and 'monkey boy' skulls were those of children with a genetic disease; many accounts were probably fabricated or embellished.

VISITING

Shennongjia is a nature reserve and tourist district.