Nine-tailed fox

The nine-tailed fox (Chinese: 九尾狐; pinyin: jiǔwěihú) is a mythical fox entity originating from Chinese mythology that is a common motif in East Asian mythology and the most famous fox spirit in Chinese culture.

Nine-tailed fox
The nine-tailed fox in the Shanhaijing, depicted in an edition from the Qing dynasty
Chinese name
Chinese九尾狐
Literal meaningnine-tailed fox
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet
  • hồ ly tinh
  • cáo chín đuôi
Chữ Hán狐狸精
Chữ Nôm𤞺𠃩𡳪
Korean name
Hangul구미호
Hanja九尾狐
Japanese name
Kanji九尾の狐
Illustration of a Fox Spirit from the Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng.

In Chinese and East Asian folklore, foxes are depicted as spirits possessed of magic powers. These foxes are often depicted as mischievous, usually tricking other people, with the ability to disguise themselves as a beautiful woman.

The fox spirit is an especially prolific shapeshifter, known variously as the húli jīng (fox spirit) and jiǔwěihú (nine-tailed fox) in China, the kitsune (fox) in Japan, the kumiho (nine-tailed fox) in Korea, and the hồ ly tinh (fox spirit) or cáo tinh (fox spirit, a synonym of hồ ly tinh) and cửu vĩ hồ or cáo chín đuôi (nine-tailed fox) in Vietnam. Although the specifics of the tales vary, these fox spirits can usually shapeshift, often taking the form of beautiful young women who attempt to seduce men, whether for mere mischief or to consume their bodies or spirits.[1]

Origin
Painting of a nine-tailed fox spirit from Yanju's tomb, Gansu Province.

The earliest mention of the nine-tailed fox is the Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), compiled from the Warring States period (475 BC–221 BC) to the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD; 25 AD –220 AD) period. The work states:

The Land of Qing Qiu lies north of Tianwu. The foxes there have four legs and nine tails. According to another version, it is located north of Sunrise Valley.[2]

In chapter 14 of the Shanhaijing, Guo Pu had commented that the nine-tailed fox was an auspicious omen that appeared during times of peace.[2] However, in chapter 1, another aspect of the nine-tailed fox is described:

Three hundred li farther east is Qing Qiu Mountain, where much jade can be found on its south slope and green cinnabar on its north. There is a beast here whose form resembles a fox with nine tails. It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater. Whoever eats it will be protected against insect-poison (gu).[2]

Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a Kyubi. Print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 19th century.

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.[2] 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.[2] According to the first-century Baihutong (Debates in the White Tiger Hall), the fox's nine tails symbolize abundant progeny.[2]

Describing the transformation and other features of the fox, Guo Pu (276–324) made the following comment:

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. 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.[3]

The Youyang Zazu made a connection between nine-tailed foxes and the divine:

Among the arts of the Way, there is a specific doctrine of the celestial fox. [The doctrine] says that the celestial fox has nine tails and a golden color. It serves in the Palace of the Sun and Moon and has its own fu (talisman) and a jiao ritual. It can transcend yin and yang.[4]

Popular fox worship during the Tang dynasty has been mentioned in a text entitled Hu Shen (Fox gods):

Since the beginning of the Tang, many commoners have worshiped fox spirits. They make offerings in their bedchambers to beg for their favor. The foxes share people's food and drink. They do not serve a single master. At the time there was a figure of speech saying, "Where there is no fox demon, no village can be established".[5]

Each of the nine-tailed fox appearances are listed in each section in order by year:

Games

Literature, graphic novels, comics

Film

TV series

See also

References
  1. Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2014). The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. p. 510
  2. Strassberg (2002), pp. 88–89 & 184
  3. Kang (2006), p. 17
  4. Kang (2006), p. 23
  5. Huntington (2003), p. 14

Literature
  • Huntington, Rania (2003). Alien kind: Foxes and late imperial Chinese narrative. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674010949.
  • Kang, Xiaofei (2006). The cult of the fox: Power, gender, and popular religion in late imperial and modern China. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231133388.
  • Strassberg, Richard E. (2002). A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas. Berkeley: University of California press. ISBN 0-520-21844-2.
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