Hai Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Ghost (guǐ) Character: Demon Kangxi strokes: 21 Page 1462, Entry 67 Pronounced mo. In the Shuowen Jiezi (Explaining Single-component Characters and Analyzing Compound Characters), it refers to ghosts and monsters. In the Shurangama Sutra (Lengyan Jing), it speaks of subduing various demonic spirits and monsters. There are also dances of the celestial demons. In Palace Poems by Wang Jian (Gongci), it says: The officials perform the demon dance with long sleeves. According to the Zhengzitong (True Character Guide), Buddhist sutras and treatises explain that the character for demon was originally written with the stone radical, but this was a simplified form. Emperor Wu of Liang changed it to include the ghost radical.