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Illustration of a Fox Spirit from the Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng.

The nine-tailed fox (九尾狐) is a mythical fox entity originating from Northeast Asia mythology.

The first recorded appearance of the Gumiho (nine-tailed fox) can be found in the ancient text, Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas). The text states: ‘In the land of Cheong-gu, there lives a fox with nine tails.’ In this context, Cheong-gu refers to the territory of modern-day Korea. Although Shanhaijing is a Chinese record, it effectively establishes the Gumiho as a symbolic creature associated with the Korean people.

In asia folklores, foxes are depicted as spirits possessed of magic power. These foxes are often depicted as mischievous, usually tricking other people, with the ability to disguise themselves as a beautiful man or woman.

The fox spirit is an especially prolific shapeshifter, known variously as the jiǔwěihú in Mandarin speaking China, and the kumiho in Korea, the kitsune in Japan, and the hồ ly tinh 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][better source needed]

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 a thousand years old, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox.[2]

In other articles, it is said that” “The fox demon from Heaven was incarnated as this woman to bring disaster to the Shang Dynasty.”[3] “Once in human form, fox spirits would take advantage of mortal humans…. However, there are several exceptions to this general rule. Some stories describe fox spirits as having a strong sense of honor.”[4]

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.[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

Citations

  1. ^ Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2014). “Shapeshifter”. The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing. p. 510. ISBN 9781409425625.
  2. ^ Kang (2006), p. 17
  3. ^ Li, Guoping (July 2023). “Confucian Order and Religious Doctrines: Rhetorical Characterizations of Illustrations in the Fiction “Quanxiang Pinghua” in the Yuan Dynasty”. Religions. 14 (7): 847. doi:10.3390/rel14070847. ISSN 2077-1444.
  4. ^ Mirsky, Anna (2022-08-19). “Fox Spirits”. Foxes and Women in Imperial China.
  5. ^ Kang (2006), p. 23
  6. ^ “Silent Hill f”, Wikipedia, 2026-01-29, retrieved 2026-01-30

General and cited references

  • 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, Cal.: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21844-2.