P'an Hu (Dragon dog) is the ancestor of the Yao people (a tribe located at the lower reaches of the Chang Jiang in China) and a canine shapeshifter that married an emperor's daughter and founded at least one race.
Description
P'an Hu is represented in various Chinese legends as a supernatural dog, a dog-headed man, or a shapeshifter. When he is depicted as a shapeshifter, all of him can become human except for his head. The race(s) descended from P'an Hu were often characterized by Chinese writers as monsters who combined human and dog anatomy.
Story
According to a legend, the emperor was trying to rid himself of a notorious general, his archenemy. The emperor offered to wed his daughter to the warrior who could succeed in destroying the general.
P'an Hu emerged victorious, conquering the general, and then married the emperor's daughter. After this, the legend tells us that P'an Hu and his new wife settled in the mountains where they had 12 children, who later became the heads of 12 Yao clans. The emperor was also said to have made an imperial edict declaring P'an Hu a king. The edict also included provisions that granted he and his progeny exemption from military service and taxes. It also gave them the liberty to travel freely and cultivate their mountain land.