Taotie

taotie on ding bronze vessel from late Shang era

The taotie (饕餮 Pinyin: Tāotiè, Wade-Giles: t'ao t'ieh), known as Totetsu in Japanese, is a motif commonly found on ritual bronze vessels from the Shang and Zhou Dynasty. The design typically consists of a zoomorphic mask.

In Chinese mythology, one of the Nine Dragon Children (龍生九子) is named Taotie, possibly a derivative of the earlier motif. This creature is also known as the Totetsu in Japanese mythology.