These beings are called by many names in many different national mythologies: faeries, the good people, elementals or tricksters.
In Asia, and more specifically China and Taiwan, the trickster or faerie is known by another name: fox.
A fox is neither human no beast, but an inhabitant of the space between. Chinese folklore is rife with these troublesome creatures. They make it their business to meddle in human affairs and their intentions are often mysterious.
Foxes in chinese are called 狐狸精 (Hu-li jing) or 狐仙 (Hu-xian). Like their animal namesake, foxes are cunning creatures and greatly fond of trickery. They may possess any number of magical abilities, but they are best known for shape-changing.
If a fox disguises itself as a woman it is usually beautiful and seductive. If it is as a man, then it is typically handsome, scholarly and charming. But if the fox hasn’t done a good job of changing itself you might still see its tail.
The personalities of foxes in supernatural stories vary greatly. Some are portrayed as vicious and murderous… and others have no evil intent whatsoever. Some are even deeply amorous creatures. In fact, foxes can lose their inhibitions and become totally lustful. That’s why even today, “fox” in Chinese can serve as slang for a seductress.
Sometimes, foxes seek the companionship of a human. That might cause the human’s decline and death, whether intended or not. It’s assumed that the fox spirit, being neither human nor animal, neither living nor ghost, seeks out living humans to share in the experience of a living being.
Foxes in mythology have different ranks. In earlier Chinese stories, a fox could evolve from simple origins into a shape-changer and the eventually into a celestial fox simply by aging.
The older the fox was, the more powerful it became. But in later stories this changed. A fox could remain in the middle world between man and animal. Or it could refine itself to eventually become immortal. These ‘celestial foxes’ are sometimes called a “nine-tailed fox” because they posses such a number of tails. The nine-tailed fox appears in mythologies from all over Asia.
Whatever form they may take, foxes often represent the outsider.
. One important thing to note about the story to note is that the fox spirit’s name is ‘Wu-cheng,’ which means ‘There is nothing true’. This a concept taken from Taoist thought.
“A Taiwan Fox Tale”
A long time ago, there was an old scholar from the Fujian Province of China named Chang who was invited to join a government office in Taiwan. Behind his rooms at the office was large garden where the scholar liked to relax and walk. In the garden stood a two-story building with three rooms, one above and two below. It was surrounded by a wall. It seemed as though no one lived there, because it was always silent and no one answered the door whenever Chang knocked.Chang later learned that the building was not for people, but to make offerings to the Fox Spirit. Only the head of the office dared to enter the building to make the offerings because the others were all afraid. Chang loved quiet and solitude so he thought the shrine would be a perfect place for him to live. He was not afraid. So with his master’s permission he moved into one of the rooms downstairs.
Chang investigated the upstairs room after he moved in. To his surprise he found it scrupulously clean. In the room was a small table with a tablet on it inscribed with the words ‘Old Man Wu-cheng’ [無真叟]. Chang paid his respects to the tablet and retired to sleep below. And twice a month he left offerings for the Fox.
On nights when the moonlight was very clear and the breeze stirred the leaves in the garden, Change fancied that he heard things. Sometimes he heard the sound of footsteps in the room above. Other times he heard someone descending the stairs to the yard and pushing open the gate in the wall. But he never saw anyone.
It continued this way until the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The sky was again very clear. Chang sat down in the yard to gaze at the moon and partake of his solitary feast. Suddenly, his wine cup twirled and moved itself to the opposite end of the table. Chang believed it must be the Fox Spirit coming to visit him. Exhilarated, his raised his cup to toast the Fox. But there was no response.
The following night, Scholar Chang went into the upstairs chamber and locked the door. He begged the Fox Spirit to show itself. At that instant a person appeared in the room. “Who are you?” asked Chang. “My name is Wu-cheng,” the fox replied. Chang asked the fox what time be belonged to and why he lived among mortals in the temporal world instead of the forest-covered mountains. “I have lived in the time of the Sung Dynasty 500 years ago,” said the Fox. “When I became one with the Tao, I was ordered by the Heavenly Fox to occupy this place.”
After that, the scholar and the Fox would meet every night. The Fox gave Chang warnings of things to come and advise him on many things. He instructed Chang to befriend a poor young man named Ya-Lu [亞禄] and help him in any way he could. But the Fox never explained why he told Chang to do this and Chang didn’t ask.
One day three years later, Wu-cheng suddenly told Scholar Chang that he was leaving the office to go live in Chang’s home province of Fujian. Chang replied, “But your seal is here and is not broken. How can you simply leave?” Wu-cheng answered, “The seal is always with me. I never leave my seal in any place. But it seems that you never think of returning to your native place.” “I often consider returning home,” Chang said, “But the constraints of home life always cause me to defer the move.” Wu-cheng sighed and said, “That’s fate. I can do nothing”. He then added, “Now I have a gift for you that you should always carry with you and never let leave your side.” A piece of paper fluttered down to the floor. Chang saw that it was a license for a wine-merchant. Chang folded the license and placed it in a small leather pouch that he wore inside his clothing and next to his body. That night the scholar and the Fox raised their cups to one another and drank wine throughout the night. When Chang awoke the next morning the Fox had disappeared.
Not long after the fox disappeared, there was a revolt in Taiwan. The rebels took possession of the office. So Chang changed his clothing and mingled with the other refugees. But his mainland appearance was soon spotted and he was brought before the rebel leader Lin Shuang Wen [林爽文]. “You are not native Taiwanese, so you must be the relative of some Ching official,” Lin said to him. “You shall be beheaded!” But when the soldiers searched Chang they found a small leather pouch with a piece of paper in it which they showed to Lin. “He’s just a wine merchant,” Lin said. “Release him.” Scholar Chang kept his life, though he now had to live within the rebel’s camp.
Some months later Chang was arrested again a brought to see the new young general. Once more Chang feared for his life. When the general saw him Chang he took off his armor and said, “Scholar Chang, do you not recognize me. It’s Ya-lu!”
General Ya-lu remembered Chang’s kindness to him and persuaded him to become his confidante. The young general later dispatched him to Fujian as a spy. Thus Chang was finally able to return to his home.
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