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Does someone know what this ear stud shows?

Because of the Yin/Yang symbol it should be chinese - so no Yōkai.

Could it be a Yaoguai? A Huli jing?

I have absolutely no idea but I just want to know it so badly!

EDIT: I've heard another idea: Could this be Sun Wukong?

stud

Semaphore
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Aspergirl89
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    Well, can't say I'm really certain, but just to throw it out there: It looks like a tiger to me. Do we have any particular reason to conclude it isn't a tiger? – femtoRgon Apr 19 '16 at 22:54
  • It could be a tiger, for sure, but it has a symbol on the forehead, so I think it is something mythological. A mythological tiger quasi ^^ But it could also be a fox I think... – Aspergirl89 Apr 20 '16 at 00:08
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    This is the "face" of Shu Han general Jiang Wei, 202-264. The use of a Taiji is inspired by a semi-mythological military formation based on that Zhuge Liang supposedly taught Jiang. @femtoRgon It's not a tiger. It is a recognisable makeup pattern in Peking Operas. – Semaphore Apr 27 '16 at 09:49
  • @Semaphore - As I said, just throwing what it looked like to me out there. Any reason you didn't want to post that as an answer? Seems a pretty good answer to me.. – femtoRgon Apr 27 '16 at 16:20
  • @femtoRgon Sorry, not meaning to criticise your comment; it was intended as an answer for why this isn't a tiger. Not posting as an answer because I can't furnish it with links to theoi / whatever meets the arbitrary standard for "reputable source", or translations, or whatever new requirement people keep coming up with. – Semaphore Apr 27 '16 at 18:38
  • @Semaphore - Not at all, and I certainly see what you mean with the arbitrary requirements, but looking up an image of a Jiang Wei opera mask was more than compelling enough to convince me, for what it's worth. – femtoRgon Apr 27 '16 at 18:55
  • @Semaphore who cares about the requirements anybody tries to impose: the requirements you are imposing to yourself when answering are certainly good enough for this site given the general high quality of your answers. Your comments here are definitely the correct answer to this question, and they are already good enough as an answer without needing to add anything more. – plannapus Apr 28 '16 at 07:36
  • @Semaphore I'm convinced, too. Just post it as an answer! Only thing I wonder is the intention behind this ear stud design(?) – Aspergirl89 Apr 28 '16 at 15:41
  • @Semaphore I also think there's a case to be made for this being "common knowledge" in Chinese culture. It seems like one can walk into almost any Chinese gift shop in any Chinatown and see it. I found this thesis from RIT which shows the mask on p.16. Although it doesn't directly identify the mask as Jiang Wei, it's a start. – DukeZhou Oct 20 '16 at 19:33

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