Yeren

The yeren (Chinese: 野人, 'wild man') is a cryptid apeman reportedly inhabiting remote, mountainous regions of China, most notably the Shennongjia Forestry District in Hubei Province. Sightings of "hairy men" have been consistently recorded from the Warring States Period around 340 BC through the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), eventually evolving into the modern yeren legend. These creatures are typically described as savage, powerful, and swift, dwelling in mountain caves and occasionally descending to raid villages for food or women.

Scientific interest in these apemen surged during the 1950s and 1960s, coinciding with pseudoscientific discoveries related to Bigfoot and the yeti. However, the Maoist government's pressure to abandon such folk legends suppressed further interest until the regime's dissolution in 1976. Subsequently, the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched major expeditions to investigate eyewitness accounts, footprints, hair samples, and alleged bodies as "yeren fever" spread throughout China. These efforts featured an unprecedented level of citizen science participation. Scientists often speculated that the yeren might be a distant human relative such as Gigantopithecus or Paranthropus robustus. However, all evidence presented ultimately derived from known animals—primarily bears, monkeys, and gibbons—causing scientific interest to decline by the late 1980s. Nevertheless, organized yeren research continues today, though no serious scientific institutions acknowledge the existence of such creatures.

The yeren has become an artistic symbol of wildness and nature. Following the Cultural Revolution, it was used to challenge sexually restrictive and egalitarian ideals, as well as to address environmental concerns like deforestation in China.