Introduction

The Chinese are not alone in their fascination for creatures that dance on the boundary between the human and animal worlds. Maoist ideology in China had long criminalised such interest in the superstitious or paranormal but as the Cultural Revolution drew to an end in the mid 1970s, room for more scientific freedom emerged. Chinese paleoanthropologists turned their attention to the existence of Bigfoot and Yeti-like mammals. This trend closely paralleled, and indeed was fuelled by, widespread enthusiasm in Western countries for the same phenomena.

The topic quickly captured the Chinese popular imagination, with scientists descending on mountainous areas of Hubei province to investigate reported sightings of a strange being called: the Wildman or ‘Yeren’ in Chinese. Foot- prints were found, hair samples collected and dozens of testimonies from local farmers about this legendary creature were given. They typical- ly agree that it walks upright and stands over two meter tall; is covered in tawny hair all over the body and has a face reminiscent of both an ape and a human. Officially sponsored research, followed by stories from many amateur enthusiasts, sparked a nationwide phenomenon called ‘Wildman Fever’ that would last for decades.

In this publication we have zoomed in on a diverse set of photographic and handwritten research made by leading investigators of the Wildman Investigation and Research Group that have been collected by the Archive of Modern Conflict. It includes hand-coloured photographs of eyewitnesses, quotes from newspaper articles and a sample of real Wildman hair. The book intends to summarise the phenomenon, without answering the question of the actual existence of the creature but instead tell the story that lead the nation into a wilderness of fact and fiction.

Ruben Lundgren