Báigǔ Jīng

The White Bone Demon (White-Bone Lady) appears in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. She is a female demon who has cultivated power for a thousand years and wants to devour Tripitaka (Xuanzang) to gain immortality. She shapeshifts three times — as a young woman, an old woman, and an old man — each time being seen through and killed by Sun Wukong, whose perception cannot be deceived. Her importance lies in showing the danger of deceptive appearances, and the spiritual tests placed before the monk.

In her true form, a skeleton or collection of white bones that can animate and reform. In disguise she appears as a beautiful young woman, then an aged mother, then an elderly father — all innocent-seeming. Her disguises are perfect to all except those with supernatural clarity of sight.

Could create perfect illusions of innocent humans from her bone-body. Thousand years of demonic cultivation gave her significant power. Could escape even mortal wounds by abandoning her illusory form and leaving only bones. Sought to consume immortal flesh to gain eternal life.