Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Can Bring About Visions of the ‘Little People’of Yunnan
Hallucinogenic Mushrooms Can Bring About Visions of the ‘Little People’of Yunnan January 27, 2026 Certain mushrooms sold by street vendors in China’s southern province of Yunnan come with a friendly warning: cook them thoroughly, or “you will see the xiao ren ren ,” the “little people”, a lilliputian invasion caused by a naturally-occurring hallucinogen neutralized by the heat provided from cooking the fungus. Curiously, the appearance of these diminutive creatures is consistent amongst the individuals that are affected, even in cultures from regions thousands of miles away. If consumed undercooked, jian shou qing mushrooms can bring about a type of hallucination that referred to as xiao ren ren , a phrase meaning “little men” or “little people” (the double-“ren”, meaning man or person, is a plural form used to emphasize that a large number of these imps appear). In a manner similar to the reported commonality amongst the beings encountered through the use ...
