Nine-tailed fox

The nine-tailed fox (Chinese: 九尾狐; pinyin: jiǔwěihú) is a mythical fox entity originating from Chinese mythology.

Chinese九尾狐

Literal meaningnine-tailed fox

Hanyu Pinyinjiǔwěihú

Hanyu Pinyinjiǔwěihú

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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 meaning	nine-tailed fox
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin jiǔwěihú IPA [tɕjòʊ.mèɪ.xǔ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization gáuméihwùh Jyutping gau2 mei5 wu4 IPA [kɐw˧˥.mej˩˧.wu˩]
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	hồ ly tinh cáo chín đuôi
Chữ Hán	狐狸精
Chữ Nôm	𤞺𠃩𡳪
Korean name
Hangul	구미호
Hanja	九尾狐
Transcriptions Revised Romanization gumiho McCune–Reischauer kumiho
Japanese name
Kanji	九尾の狐
Transcriptions Romanization kyūbi no kitsune

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In Chinese 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 húli jīng (fox spirit) in Mandarin speaking China, the hồ ly tinh (fox spirit) in Vietnam, the kitsune (fox) in Japan, and the kumiho (nine-tailed fox) in Korea. 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]