The Tao Tei monsters first appeared in Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall, and their fame has grown since then. They also sparked the development of a prequel graphic novel set sixty years before the events of the film. Matt Damon, Jing Tian, and Pedro Pascal star in the film, but the beastly creatures steal the show. The film is set in ancient China and is based on one of the many legends surrounding the construction of the Great Wall. The animals that fell on a meteorite are said to be divine retribution for their avarice.
Ancient Chinese folklore inspired the Tao Tei monsters, who represent one of the four evils. They have long been associated with greed and gluttony in Chinese culture. We should not anticipate factual accuracy from a monster movie, but we can go into detail about our observations of the creature and its appearance in Chinese folklore.
The Great Wall (2017)
The secret of the mysterious black powder with the ability to turn air into the fire had drawn many westerners to China during the reign of the Renzong Emperor. William Garin and Pero Tovar were some of the mercenaries who were traveling to verify and trade the mysterious power. They had lost many men during their journey and only a handful of them remained. The remaining survivors try to ration their belongings and leave behind unnecessary weight. William had been traveling with a magnet the size of a rock that he was reluctant to part with. While they were resting in the cave, they were attacked by an unknown creature.
William fights against the creature and defeats him by cutting off its arm. He decides to take it with him hoping someone will be able to tell them about the monster he had just killed. The next morning they leave for the Great Wall, where they are surrounded by soldiers and taken prisoner by the soldiers of the nameless order. They are interrogated about their motives by Commander Lin and asked questions about the hand of the creature in their possession. Their account of the encounter with the unknown creature gets the attention of the Nameless Order. Commander Lin felt the westerners should be executed to protect the secret of the wall, but Strategist Wang suggests keeping them alive as their story about the creature had valuable Intel.
The soldiers of the nameless orders find themselves under siege before they could decide the fate of the westerners. William and Pero witness a battle formation like one they have never seen before. They learn that the creature William has killed is called a Tao Tei, and they attack every sixty years. The soldiers were taken by surprise as they weren’t expecting the attack for another week. Ballard, another westerner who had been captured by the soldier’s twenty-five years ago, now serves as their Latin and English teacher. He freed William and Tovar during the ongoing battle.
When presented with the choice to flee or fight, William decided to stay behind and help the Nameless Order fight against the Tao Tei. William and Pero earn the General’s praise after displaying their battle skills and saving Peng Young from becoming Tao Tei’s meal. William develops an interest in Commander Lin as they seem to have a bit in common, but Commander Lin believes they are not the same. Pero and William meet with Ballard and come up with a strategy to escape confinement and steal gunpowder.
William finds himself torn as he wants to earn the trust of Commander Lin. General Shao gets killed when the Tao Tei attack once again. He promotes Lin to the position of a general before his last breath and leaves her in charge of the Nameless Order. Strategist Wang learns that the Tao Tei can be pacified by magnets, and the stone William was carrying helped him take down the creature. William is forced to choose between escaping with gunpowder or staying behind and helping the Nameless Order take down the dangerous creatures.
Green reptilian Tao Tei Monster Explored
The Tao Tei look similar to ceratopsian dinosaurs. They are dark green reptilian creatures that are carnivorous in nature. Their retractable membranous head frills allow them to telepathically communicate with each other. They have elaborate motifs on the crest of their skulls that have inspired many motifs in ancient Chinese culture. There are three kinds of Tao Tei, the soldiers being the most common of them all, the defenders who act like the Queen’s bodyguard, and the majestic Queen herself.
The Tao Tei are extremely greedy and would consume everything in their path. Their society is similar to that of an ant, whose purpose is to serve their Queen. They are aggressive, bloodthirsty, and intelligent creatures. The creatures had evolved since they attacked sixty years ago. They don’t only appear green, they also bleed green blood. They have the jaws of a predator and an eye on their back to look out for enemies. The defenders who are guarding the Queen look similar to apes but they have an umbrella-like shield that they use to defend the Queen from dangerous weapons. The defenders are fewer in number and larger than the Queen.
They have their eyes on their head and not on the back. Their dependency on the Queen’s communication and inability to function without her is similar to creatures sharing a hive mind. The Tao Tei soldiers are similar to bulls who can be diverted with a red cloth. It was believed that the Tao Tei was sent by God to punish an oppressive and despotic emperor for abusing his authority. They have attacked Northern China every sixty years since they arrived on Earth by crash landing on a meteor.
The Great Wall was built to prevent these creatures from getting in and the Nameless order was formed to combat them. The Tao Tei are ravenous creatures who devour the flesh of the living and dead alike. They retrieve the corpses of their slain comrades either to consume them or to prevent the humans from researching them. The Queen displays advanced thinking capability and she is the only one responsible for strategically analyzing and changing circumstances on the battlefield. She had instructed her soldiers to move slowly and silently through thick clouds of fog. While the Nameless Order were busy defending themselves, she had strategically sent some of her soldiers to infiltrate the wall. She would call back a battle if the circumstances no longer seemed in her favor.
The soldiers can adapt on spot to carry out the Queen’s orders but they lack a sapient level thought process. The aggressive and fearless soldiers are willing to charge through a hailstorm of arrows and catapult shots, despite being hit multiple times. Individually, the Tao Tei are moderately strong and fast runners. They overwhelm their enemies often by using swarm tactics. The huge amount of food regurgitated back to feed the Queen by her soldiers has allowed her to expand her colony by breeding more soldiers.
Magnetic rocks act like kryptonite for the Tao Tei. The magnetic rocks pacify the creatures and being in their vicinity blocks their connection with the hive mind. The disruption in communication makes them fall still and silent without the instructions from their Queen. Even though the creatures are immune to being attacked by arrows and balls of fire, a direct hit in the eye instantly eliminates them. They can also be killed by consuming explosives or being cut into pieces. The Queen serves as the vital organ for her colony. Her death would cause the colony to collapse and her entire army to freeze in their tracks. While the Soldiers are the most common breed of Tao Tei, the defenders are much larger in size but much lesser in number. While the soldiers fight the battle, the defenders protect the Queen by shielding her with their armored frills.
Tao Tei Queen
The Tao Tei Queen was the big bad monster the Nameless Order was up against. She was the leader and commander of the Tao Tei army, as well as a tyrannical queen. Her appearance resembles that of a Protoceratops with an elongated squat body, overlapping plates on the back, and a long whip-like tail. Unlike the other Tao Tei with eyes on their back, her eyes were located on her face. A bulging forehead rounds her face and the upwards curve on her lips gives her a snarling expression.
The two-pronged sail on her forehead that vibrates to signal her troops is her most distinguishing physical feature. She is the only Tao Tei breed equipped with advanced thinking capability. She can come up with strategies to turn the tables on the battlefield. Her execution of the strategies is ruthless. She would sacrifice her soldiers to achieve her goals but she is tactical enough to know when to withdraw from a losing battle. She is the reproductive element of her colony and the leader of their hive mind. She is the linchpin holding her army together.
How did they come to Earth?
A long time ago, around 1000 BC, Ancient China was being ruled by a despotic emperor. His greed made him abuse his authority. Around that time, the Gouwu Mountain was hit by a meteorite that began to glow green. The meteorite brought the Tao Tei who wreaked havoc on China. They probably landed on Earth after the destruction of their home planet. Their greedy nature made the people believe the Tao Tei was sent by God to punish the selfish Emperor.
The Tao Tei served as a reminder of the consequences of unchecked greed. They would return every sixty years to attack the kingdom. The people erected the Great Wall and formed the Nameless Order to safeguard the kingdom from the threat of Tao Tei. The Tao Tei army was planning a siege during the rule of the Song Dynasty, but they were alerted of the upcoming attack when two westerners showed up with the severed hand of the creature. As the Tao Tei emerged and swarmed the mountain, the archers, catapults, and spear-women were the first line of defense against the Tao Tei soldiers.
Is Tao Tei actually a real mythical creature?
The Tao Tei in The Great Wall was inspired by creatures in Chinese Mythology. The Tao Tei monsters are often referred to as Taotie and they represent gluttony. The creatures were extremely commonly witnessed imagery seen during the Shang Dynasty as the symbol of greed and fierceness. In the film we see the creatures focusing solely on finding food to help their Queen reproduce. Over the years, the Tao Tei has been depicted in various ways. As a period piece, the film is hardly factual but it’s rooted in mythology.
The film would convince you that the Great Wall was built to keep the monsters at bay, but in reality, the wall was built for trading purposes and defense against human invaders. The legend of the Tao Tei has been around for thousands of years. The creature is so deeply rooted in Chinese culture that they also appear in their currency. After going over 700 designs, the director Zhang Yimou decided to settle for a terrestrial and realistic look. A lot of earthly predators including the T-Rex were used as references while creating the designs. According to a Chinese saying, the Tao Tei is the fifth son of the dragon and the director wanted that influence to reflect on the design. He wished for the creatures to be more sinister but he decided to settle for the current version to not risk losing the pg13 rating.
What are the Four Evils and is Tao Tei one of them?
Chinese Mythology is filled with protectors, god-like creatures, and evil beings. Si-Xong, also known as the Four Evils, are one of the most popular in the culture. The four evils consist of Tao Tie, Hun Dun, Qiong Qi, and Tao Wu. They hold the evil characteristics of encouraging greed, distorting the truth, and creating war. The name of the beasts are referred to as metaphors out of superstition. According to some legends, the death of rebellious tribe leaders birthed the four evils in ancient times. San Mai, Huan Dou, Gong Gong, and Gun were the tribe leaders who ruled during the reign of the Shun Emperor. In the end, they were defeated and exiled.
There are numerous stories about the origin of the beasts. Tao Tie is known as the symbol of greed. In Shan Hai Jing, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Tao Tie is described as a creature with the body of a sheep, the teeth of a tiger, and the face and hands of a human. Its eyes are hidden under the armpits and it has the voice of a baby. In the folk stories, the Tao Tie is shown to eat everything, including humans. Their greed for food is so strong that they end up eating their own body. The patterns of Tao Tie are found in ancient cooking vessels, but only with its head. A feast for Tao Tie or Tao Tie Shengyan is often used to indicate a grand feast.
According to one of the legends, when Chi You was beheaded by the Yellow Emperor, his head fell on the earth and became a Tao Tie. There are many versions of the Hun Dun but the most common of them all is the one in Shen Yi Jing, the classic of Gods and strange animals, during the Han dynasty. The Hun Dun monster doesn’t have the ability to tell right from wrong. It resembles a dog with a bear’s palm but no claws.
It has eyes but it cannot see, it can walk yet not move, and it has ears but cannot hear. The Qiong Qi resembles a tiger with wings. It can speak several languages and eats a human from the head. Its greatest ability lies in creating confusion in people’s minds and instigating war. The Tao Wu resembles a tiger with a human face and pig’s teeth. It is often used to symbolize someone fierce and stubborn.
The story of the Great Wall is not without loopholes. The creature’s weaknesses appear and alter according to the convenience of the plot. The soldiers are seen removing arrows from their own bodies but they don’t notice the explosives hanging from the body of the soldier released by the human.
The Queen is responsible for reproducing and repopulating their species. Given their mortal nature, it is quite unlikely for the Queen to not produce or select an heir. Despite the flaws, the story is quite engaging. It is packed with action scenes and cheesy dialogues. The visuals of the Nameless Order taking their formation for the battle was quite grand. The Tao Tei swarming the walls felt quite similar to the dinosaurs running loose in Jurassic Park. Even though the story is hugely dominated by the monsters, it is the story of a mercenary who learns to look beyond his greed.