{"id":65932,"date":"2014-01-31T11:58:08","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T16:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=65932"},"modified":"2014-01-31T12:33:16","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T17:33:16","slug":"it-lurks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/","title":{"rendered":"It Lurks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"nian\"<\/a>

The creature in question, ostensibly terrifying.<\/p><\/div>\n

Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable woe, and for this reason children are cautioned against reading it, though they\u2019re also, paradoxically, commanded to heed it.<\/p>\n

In the land called China, during a period called the sh\u00e0ngg\u01d4\u2014which translates roughly to \u201ca very long time ago\u201d\u2014a fearsome creature-beast once roamed the land. It was known as the Nian, because rather than howling or roaring like your more conventional monster types, it emitted a cry that sounds like the Chinese word ni\u00e1n<\/i>. Accounts of the beast\u2019s appearance vary, but in many depictions, it resembles the stone lions sometimes seen outside Chinese restaurants: flat faced, with a dog\u2019s body, prominent incisors, and a barrister\u2019s powdered wig. Some have even described it as a lion with the heart of a bull. All of which suggests that it\u2019s fairly effete and underwhelming, with very high blood pressure.<\/p>\n

And yet it struck terror into the hearts of men. Every year on the night of the second full moon after the winter solstice, the Nian would come down from its home in the mountains to harass people and eat their chickens and children. In order to escape its wrath, the villagers would evacuate their homes and flee into the forest. This went on for centuries, presumably, until one year the people devised a plan. They sent an emissary up through the mountains into the Nian\u2019s lair. Quaking with fear, he approached it and he said, \u201cNian, if you think you\u2019re so big, go and kill all the other monsters in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so it was that the Nian killed all the other monsters in the world. <\/p>\n

The next year, it descended from the mountains again with the intention of harassing people and eating their poultry and progeny, as was its wont. But the feast was not to be. As the Nian approached the village, some children were wearing red and setting off firecrackers, as all good children should. It scampered away in horror.<\/p>\n

The Nian, they learned that day, has a pronounced fear of loud noises and the color red. The people began at that time of year to put up red banners and papers and such, and also to set off firecrackers all the goddamn time. As the years passed, and as it became increasingly clear how utterly ineffectual the Nian was, this time became an occasion to gather with one\u2019s family and revel in his defeat, basking in the joyous, mellifluous sound of constantly detonating firecrackers. This celebration came to be known as the Chinese New Year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived in China for five years, and I\u2019m concerned to report that Chinese belief in the Nian is on the wane. There has not been a confirmed Nian sighting in China in living memory, and the current generation, having spent their lives ensconced in a vibrant cocoon of red things and loud noises, is inclined to see it as no more than a myth. The period surrounding the Chinese New Year, called Spring Festival, is, like Christmas in the West: increasingly adrift, unmoored from the events that gave rise to it and lend it meaning.<\/p>\n

Granted, the Nian appears, even to a circumspect fellow such as myself, to be a pretty hapless monster. But my fear is this: that the intervening centuries have blunted our memories of its animus and that now, when so many consider it a legend, the Nian is prepared to make a comeback.<\/p>\n

Think about it. China still protects itself, albeit unwittingly. But in the West, the second full moon following the winter solstice passes every year unnoticed, and no precautions whatsoever are taken against marauding creatures of the night. Too infrequently is it observed that outside China the Nian could easily pass unrecognized\u2014mistaken for, depending on context and culture, say, a juvenile chupacabra, or the result of a genetic experiment gone moderately awry, or an old classmate. Not many of us in postindustrial society are raising chickens, which means the Nian is far more likely to prey on humans\u2014on children, especially.<\/p>\n

We are vulnerable. Our youth are at risk. I thus humbly beg you: Bar your doors! Hide your chickens! Make frequent percussive sounds! If you absolutely must go out, wear red and mace all leonine strangers in powdered wigs.<\/p>\n

Beware the Nian!<\/p>\n

Ben Flake lives in Suzhou, China, where he is vigilant.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable woe, and for this reason children are cautioned against reading it, though they\u2019re also, paradoxically, commanded to heed it. In the land called China, during a period […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":640,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[419],"tags":[1815,12738,12740,12741,12454,12739],"class_list":["post-65932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-culture","tag-china","tag-chinese-new-year","tag-firecrackers","tag-legends","tag-monsters","tag-the-nian"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOn the Chinese New Year, the (Fearsome?) Story of the Nian<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It Lurks by Ben Flake\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paris Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"575\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"496\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ben Flake\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@parisreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@parisreview\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ben Flake\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ben Flake\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a12016fa0b7e3bfdb95f1cd0e54b965a\"},\"headline\":\"It Lurks\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\"},\"wordCount\":776,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"China\",\"Chinese New Year\",\"firecrackers\",\"legends\",\"Monsters\",\"the Nian\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Arts & Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\",\"name\":\"On the Chinese New Year, the (Fearsome?) Story of the Nian\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It Lurks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paris Review\",\"description\":\"The best prose, interviews, poetry, and art. Since 1953.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Paris Review\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"The Paris Review\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/parisreview\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/parisreview\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a12016fa0b7e3bfdb95f1cd0e54b965a\",\"name\":\"Ben Flake\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8985b7c78bfee5d75909fba9e647687e9e9c391d9e75ae4160e54ea8fd867c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8985b7c78bfee5d75909fba9e647687e9e9c391d9e75ae4160e54ea8fd867c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ben Flake\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/author\/bflake\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On the Chinese New Year, the (Fearsome?) Story of the Nian","description":"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It Lurks by Ben Flake","og_description":"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable","og_url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/","og_site_name":"The Paris Review","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/","article_published_time":"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":575,"height":496,"url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ben Flake","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@parisreview","twitter_site":"@parisreview","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ben Flake","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/"},"author":{"name":"Ben Flake","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a12016fa0b7e3bfdb95f1cd0e54b965a"},"headline":"It Lurks","datePublished":"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/"},"wordCount":776,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg","keywords":["China","Chinese New Year","firecrackers","legends","Monsters","the Nian"],"articleSection":["Arts & Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/","name":"On the Chinese New Year, the (Fearsome?) Story of the Nian","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-31T16:58:08+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-31T17:33:16+00:00","description":"January 31, 2014 \u2013 Today is the Chinese New Year, and as you prepare to celebrate, I entreat you to remember the reason for the season. It\u2019s a tale of not inconsiderable","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/nian.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2014\/01\/31\/it-lurks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It Lurks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/","name":"The Paris Review","description":"The best prose, interviews, poetry, and art. Since 1953.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#organization","name":"The Paris Review","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/tpr-hadada-roundell-logo-square.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"The Paris Review"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/","https:\/\/x.com\/parisreview","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/parisreview"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a12016fa0b7e3bfdb95f1cd0e54b965a","name":"Ben Flake","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8985b7c78bfee5d75909fba9e647687e9e9c391d9e75ae4160e54ea8fd867c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8985b7c78bfee5d75909fba9e647687e9e9c391d9e75ae4160e54ea8fd867c0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ben Flake"},"url":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/author\/bflake\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65932"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65954,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65932\/revisions\/65954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}