says that the celestial fox has nine tails and a golden color. The Youyang Zazu made a connection between nine-tailed foxes and the divine:Īmong the arts of the Way, there is a specific doctrine of the celestial fox. Qing Dynasty depiction of the fox spirit. They would try multiple skulls until they found one that fit without falling off.
In a Tang Dynasty story, foxes could become humans by wearing a skull and worshipping the Big Dipper. In Duìsúpiān (對俗篇) of the Baopuzi, it is written:įoxes and dholes both can be eight hundred years of age, and when they are five hundred years old, they become enlightened and are able to take up human form. Such beings are able to know things at more than a thousand miles' distance they can poison men by sorcery, or possess and bewilder them, so that they lose their memory and knowledge and when a fox is thousand years old, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox. When a fox is fifty years old, it can transform itself into a woman when a hundred years old, it becomes a beautiful female, or a spirit medium, or an adult male who has sexual intercourse with women. ĭescribing the transformation and other features of the fox, Guo Pu (276–324) made the following comment: As these traditions developed, the fox's capacity for transformation was shaped. The idea that non-human creatures with advancing age could assume human form is presented in works such as the Lunheng by Wang Chong (27–91). ĭuring the Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD 25–220 AD), the development of ideas about interspecies transformation had taken place in Chinese culture.
According to the first-century Baihutong ( Debates in the White Tiger Hall), the fox's nine tails symbolize abundant progeny. In Han iconography, the nine-tailed fox is sometimes depicted at Mount Kunlun and along with Xi Wangmu in her role as the goddess of immortality. In one ancient myth, Yu the Great encountered a white nine-tailed fox, which he interpreted as an auspicious sign that he would marry Nüjiao. Whoever eats it will be protected against insect-poison ( gu). It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater.
There is a beast here whose form resembles a fox with nine tails. Three hundred li farther east is Green-Hills Mountain, where much jade can be found on its south slope and green cinnabar on its north. In chapter 14 of the Shanhaijing, Guo Pu, a scholar of the Eastern Jin dynasty, had commented that the "nine-tailed fox was an auspicious omen that appeared during times of peace." However, in chapter 1, another aspect of the nine-tailed fox is described: According to another version, it is located north of Sunrise Valley. The foxes there have four legs and nine tails. The Land of Green-Hills lies north of Tianwu. The nine-tailed fox occurs in the Shanhaijing ( Classic of Mountains and Seas), compiled from the Warring States period to the Western Han period (circa fourth to circa first century BC). Older depictions of fox spirits depict the eight other tails as branching out from the main tail rather than being separate tails of their own. Descriptions Painting of a fox spirit from Yanju's tomb, Gansu Province. The motif of nine-tailed foxes from Chinese culture was eventually transmitted and introduced to Japanese and Korean cultures. Depending on the story, the fox spirit's presence may be a good or a bad omen. įox spirits and nine-tailed foxes appear frequently in Chinese folklore, literature, and mythology. 'fox immortal'), hushen ( 狐神 'fox god'), husheng ( 狐聖 'fox saint'), huwang ( 狐王 'fox king'), huyao ( 狐妖 'fox demon'), and jiuweihu ( 九尾狐 ' nine-tailed fox'). In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, characteristics, and shapes, including huxian ( Chinese: 狐仙 lit. Huli jing ( Chinese: 狐狸精) are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. For the Dungeons & Dragons creature, see Foxwoman (Dungeons & Dragons).
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