I think beggar art was not fantasy ..because still they are teaching yin sen shu in some parts of the world....also lin kuei were not pure imagination ..some chinese say that when they were young their patents used to scare them by saying that "there were demons in the forest wearing black clothes so dont go alone at night ". The only problem is that there is no enough evidence to prove it.
I think if a well respected CMA person tells you it's a fantasy you can be sure it is. The 'monsters/ghosties/devils' whatever in the forest/moors etc who take little children is a well known (empty) threat made by parents all over the world throughout the ages. Read the original Grimm's fairy tales ( they are quite gruesome) and look up different countries myths and fairytales.