Fox spirit

Fox spirit
Chinese name
Chinese	狐狸精
Literal meaning	fox spirit
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin húlijīng IPA [xǔ li tɕíŋ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping wu⁴lei⁴zing¹ Southern Min Hokkien POJ hô͘-lî-chiaⁿ
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	hồ ly tinh
Chữ Hán	狐狸精
Japanese name
Kanji	妖狐
Hiragana	ようこ
Transcriptions Romanization yōko

Huli jing (Chinese: 狐狸精) are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, characteristics, and shapes, including huxian (Chinese: 狐仙; lit. 'fox immortal'), hushen (狐神; 'fox god'), husheng (狐聖; 'fox saint'), huwang (狐王; 'fox king'), huyao (狐妖; 'fox demon'), huzu (狐族; 'fox clan'), and jiuweihu (九尾狐; 'nine-tailed fox').^{[1][page needed]}

Fox spirits and nine-tailed foxes appear frequently in Chinese folklore, literature, and mythology. Depending on the story, the fox spirit's presence may be a good or a bad omen.^[2] The motif of nine-tailed foxes from Chinese culture was eventually transmitted and introduced to Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures.^[3]