Chi character variant

It refers to a spirit associated with mountains and forests.

𮫥 is a variant of 魑. An early Chinese history text, the Zuozhuan, writes the related name as 螭魅; traditional commentary describes these beings as harmful spirits born from mountain and forest forces. A later addition to the Shuowen Jiezi, an early Chinese character dictionary, defines 魑 as a kind of ghost. The form 魑 combines 鬼, the “ghost” meaning component, with 离 as a sound component.

The four-character phrase 魑魅魍魎 gathers legendary monsters under one name. Chinese idiom dictionaries also use it figuratively for bad people; Japanese dictionaries use it for all sorts of monsters and, figuratively, mysterious people who act behind the scenes.