This poster portrays Ya Yu , a terrifying man-faced beast recorded in The Classic of Mountains and Seas. With a human face, crimson body, and horse-like legs, Ya Yu embodies distorted humanity and predatory instinct, a living omen of death and taboo.
Scene & Story Explanation
In the ancient records of Shan Hai Jing, Ya Yu is described with unsettling clarity: a creature bearing a human face upon a red, exposed body, standing on powerful horse-like legs. Its cry resembles that of a crying infant, a sound that lures rather than warns. Those who follow the sound do not return.
The poster situates Ya Yu within a desolate borderland—a forgotten plain between mountains and wasteland. The earth is cracked and darkened, scattered with bones and half-buried skulls bleached by time. This is not a battlefield of heroes, but a feeding ground where death has already settled.
Ya Yu stands upright, almost human in posture, yet unmistakably inhuman. Its bare red flesh appears raw and unnatural, as if stripped of skin. The human face is expressionless but alert, eyes fixed forward with unsettling intelligence. There is no rage, no frenzy—only hunger refined into patience.
Around its feet lie skulls and skeletal remains, deliberately placed within the composition rather than hidden. These are not trophies, but evidence. They serve as silent testimony to the creature’s nature: Ya Yu does not hunt in chaos; it waits, listens, and consumes.
The infant-like cry echoes through the scene metaphorically, suggested through visual rhythm rather than sound. Curved lines in the mist and air hint at vibration, as if the land itself remembers the sound. The viewer understands instinctively that this cry is not innocence, but deception weaponized.
The environment reflects moral desolation. Vegetation is sparse, twisted, and lifeless. The sky hangs low, tinted with muted reds and ash-grey clouds, as if stained by lingering bloodshed. No gods intervene here. No warning signs remain—only aftermath.
In this interpretation, Ya Yu represents a uniquely human fear: the terror of recognizing ourselves within the monster. Its human face forces confrontation, denying the comfort of seeing evil as wholly other. This is not a beast from outside civilization, but one born from its shadow.
The presence of skulls reinforces the irreversible nature of encounter. Once seen, Ya Yu is not forgotten. Once heard, its cry cannot be unheard. The myth does not ask whether Ya Yu can be defeated—it asks whether humanity can resist its own darker instincts when they wear a familiar face.
Artistic Analysis
The artwork emphasizes psychological horror over physical violence. The human face becomes the focal point, framed against negative space and skeletal remains. The use of restrained motion and static posture intensifies unease, aligning with mythological storytelling rather than modern horror tropes.
Visual Highlights
- Canon-accurate Ya Yu design: human face, red body, horse legs
- Infant-cry symbolism expressed through visual rhythm
- Skull and skeletal elements reinforcing death and taboo
- Calm posture creating psychological tension
- Faithful Shan Hai Jing interpretation with original composition
