Nine-tailed fox

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
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinjiǔwěihú
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpinggau2 mei5 wu4
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
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationgumiho
McCune–Reischauerkumiho
Japanese name
Kanji九尾の狐
Transcriptions
Romanizationkyūbi no kitsune
Illustration of a Fox Spirit from the Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng.

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

In Chinese folklores, 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 man or woman.

The fox spirit is an especially prolific shapeshifter, known variously as the húli jīng (fox spirit) in China, 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]

  1. ^ Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (2014). "Shapeshifter". The Ashgate encyclopedia of literary and cinematic monsters. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing. p. 510. ISBN 9781409425625.