The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China

by Xiaofei Kang

For more than five centuries the shamanistic fox cult has attracted large portions of the Chinese population and appealed to a wide range of social classes. Deemed illicit by imperial rulers and clerics and officially banned by republican and communist leaders, the fox cult has managed to survive and flourish in individual homes and community shrines throughout northern China. In this new work, the first to examine the fox cult as a vibrant popular religion, Xiaofei Kang explores the manifold meanings of the fox spirit in Chinese society. Kang describes various cult practices, activities of worship, and the exorcising of fox spirits to reveal how the Chinese people constructed their cultural and social values outside the gaze of offical power and morality.

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction, Religion, Gender, Mythology, Folklore

269 pages, Hardcover

First published November 4, 2005

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in the British Museum gift shop, but didn't buy it, instead cleverly added it to my amazon wish list and my dad bought it for me as a Christmas present. I had read an article by the author on fox spirits and barbarians during Tang times as part of my dissertation research and was very glad to find a whole book on the subject of fox spirits. It was easily the best book I've read in ages, and reminded me all over again how the history of Chinese religions, particularly fringe religions and stories of the strange really are simply my favourite subject ever! She also used some of my favourite sources, the Zhiguai (tales of the strange) which illustrate supernatural encounters and have been a part of Chinese writing since the Han dynasty. The most famous example is Pu Songling, who named himself the great title of yishi shi Historian of the Strange, (10) which I thought was the best title ever. I have always been very interested in the fox spirits of China. They're sort of like fairies in western fairy tales, in that they can be good or bad, or helpful but remain outside the normal rules of society. Unlike fairies they are worshiped, and can also achieve divine transcendence, and they are also actual foxes. (who have supernaturally long lives). They feature predominately in Northern Chinese folktales for over 1500 years, and range from seductive young women to old men. One of the things that Kang did fairly well was identify the different words that were used to describe the foxes and the different implications of these words and how attitudes towards them changed over time. Choosing the title "cult" seemed like a bit of a strange choice for what she was describing. This was not an organised religion, or cult in any sense, rather what Kang focused on was different instances of fox spirit worship and exorcism appearing in history and literature and modern accounts. The book focused mainly on the late imperial worked, but still gave quite a detailed account of earlier practices and beliefs about foxes as well. Kang begins by looking at the early tradition of fox spirits, she draws heavily on Tang sources and looks at the different roles of the foxes within their society. In particular she looks at the famous story of Ren the fox , there were also Buddhist tales of a fox spirit showing up in the court of Wu Zetian and deceiving her before being exposed as a fox spirit (32). Foxes were outside both Taoism, Buddhism and local religion. Taoist texts talked of fox spirits stealing the offerings intended for local gods, and how these foxes were exorcised by Taoist masters. In these tales foxes also cause illness and insanity, and are always subordinate to the Taoists. (37). Kang also included illustrations that the Taoists used for exorcising the fox spirits.(38). The development of the fox spirit in late Ming times and Qing times is looked at through the use of the term Huxian (fox immortal or fox transcendent). The associations with this word tend to be a lot more positive than those of the earlier records there are a lot of records of the interaction between foxes and mortals. In Pu Songling of 86 tales 36 involve beautiful and benevolent women foxes falling for scholars ( 90). Kang then goes on to look at domestic worship of the fox. She gives a detailed analysis of Pu Songling's story lianxiang about a man who was involved with a fox spirit and a ghost. This is a truly lovely story. The fox when discovering his affair with the ghost tries to get him to stop as the ghost 's yin energy is too strong so he will be doomed to die unless he gives up he affair. However, when she discovers that he is really in love with the ghost she gives him a pill that saves him and the ghost is reincarnated in the body of a girl from a nearby family and then marries the scholar. After the marriage the fox chooses to die and is herself reincarnated and as a 14 year old girl from a poor family and becomes his concubine. So they all live happily ever after. Wang points out how in this story the fox acted as the exorcist, heals the afflicted and converts harm to blessing (77). Other stories look at fox spirits who were lovers of grandfathers, or other older deceased family members, who returned to the family when they were in poverty and helped them re-establish their wealth and rank. In these stories the foxes took the offerings and provided the services that were normally done by the ancestors. These female foxes were able to preserve the family line and restore wealth and prestige even though they were outsiders. (82). Foxes bringing wealth to a family was a very common theme. Women who were possessed by fox spirits is given significant attention. Kang looks at the way women of low social status were able to use possession to "negotiate their own interests" (86). Little attention is given to whether or not these possessions were intentional or not, rather the results and the outcomes are decided. One example given was of a maid who was not married out who "became possessed by a fox spirit" and went crazy and started having illicit sex while possessed. The fox said it was because the family had failed in their duty to marry out the maids and so all the maids who had not been given in marriage were. This story shows the conflict between the economic hardship of marrying women, and the social pressure of upholding female chastity (84). Women who became possessed by foxes could also make a new life for themselves as a successful spirit medium, allowing them the position of a powerful religious professional within the community (99). There is also an example of a young maid who becomes possessed by a fox spirit, however the man in charge of the household refuses to give in to the foxes demands, stating that he would rather have his concubine die than to have her live as a medium, so the fox leaves and the woman returns to her former state. Mediums are seen as healers in both 20th century accounts as well as anecdote tales from the Ming and Qing. Their clients listed in these sources include men and women from all different social classes, however many Ming Qing literati writings assumed their clients were either from a very low social background or were gullible women (118). There is even a story of a woman who was deceiving people saying she was possessed by a fox spirit when she wasn't who was possessed by the fox spirit and shown, by the fox, to have been a fraud (119). Kang also looks at the relation of fox spirits to female deities, such as the Xi Wangmu, Mother Taishan and Granny Wang. (141). She also looks at the changing nature of the relationship between fox spirits and officials. There are numerous stories of official trying to stop sacrifices to the foxes and of destroying their shrines. However in these cases the foxes always return, though often not until after the officials have moved to their next post. These stories are used as an example between the conflict between the government and local interests (178). Officials who did not try to stop fox worship were often rewarded for their efforts, either with power or wealth. In the 19th century foxes became the "guardians of the official seal" (185). Kang ends the book with a wonderful conclusion, looking at how the fox cult is another illustration of the complexity of Chinese religions, and the appeal of cults that go beyond the bureaucratic mode. "The history of the fox cult in China demonstrates that popular cults of demonic origins had great appeal to people of all social backgrounds precisely because they provided opportunities to pursue amoral, personal and local interests free from official discourses of power and morality" (198). Which is a great conclusion, despite the use of the word "discourse". All in all a fascinating work of scholarship which I know I'll be referring to for years to come.

[Andre · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book tells you early on that anybody who studies Chinese local cults will encounter the problem of scanty sources, and this problem is especially acute in the case of the fox cult. To which I say: Tell me about it.
I think the author did a mistake by referring to the Classic of Mountains and Seas in such a shallow way. Yes, the book mentions foxes with nine-tails several times, but it is clear that not all of them are the same kind of creature, as e.g. one of them also has tiger claws and nine-heads and is not a man-eater. It was interesting to read that during the Six Dynasties period the image of the nine-tailed fox and fox spirits did not seem to have merged into one being yet (that happened during the Tang period). And it mentions a fox who was originally a lecherous woman in ancient times. Her name is Azi. She changed herself into a fox, and therefore the [mountain spirits] often call themselves Azi. That is not only one of the few East Asian stories I came across that features human to animal transformation, but also the first that features a human becoming a fox, usually it is the other way around.
And while the fox was originaly a sign of sagely rule, by the end of the Northern Song realm, it foretold barbarian incursions. Was that due to the word for fox and barbarian being the same at the time? Later in the specific cultural context of the late Tang, foxes were perceived as the transcendent self of the literati men, of their beloved courtesans, and most of all of the barbarians who lived among the chinese- marginal outsiders in various aspects of late Tang society.
And I checked the claim that there are no red foxes on Taiwan and that is actually true. Speaks volumes then, that a Qing source found a fox shrine there. Albeit, it is odd that there are no foxes but leopards, bears etc. on the island. How did that come to be? And I wonder whether this worship of the fox Transcendent Pei can still be found in Fuzhou or Taiwan today. And apparently only foxes with a natural talent for xian-hood can reach its highest level according to this fox in a particular story. And a man called Shen Defu claimed that foxes in Beijing gain the ability to metamorphose by licking menstrual blood from the dirty rags women threw away. And according to him, drinking menstrual blood was also practiced by humans, especially a member of the Ming family, because it is a secret of prolonging life. Yeah... no wonder why no modern fox story features this element. According to another train of thought, only the foxes who successfully take the examinations under Mother Taishan are allowed to gain the higher levels of transcendence.
And I wonder how much was lost because writers back then used classicial and not colloquial chinese.
One thing that irked me with the author was when he referred to a religious practice (here worshipping the stove god, ancestors and wandering ghosts) being practiced today as well. Because, this book came out in 2005 and I really have to ask whether that is true still today. I know that due to CCP censorship religion is a tricky subject, but I can't remember anyone referring to such worship still being active in China. And when the book talks of the cult of the Eighteen Lords in Taiwan, does he refer to the Temple of the Eighteen Lords in Taipei?
As interesting as it is to read about female power that fox-worshop and mediums could bestow on a woman and how literati reacted to it, I really wonder: Did people really belief that so many mistresses, concubines etc. were transformed foxes? And speaking of the worshipped foxes. On the provided pictures they look completely human and dessed as Qing officials and those five animal spirits for wealth are the same. Prior I noticed a similarity to older german beliefs that also have snakes as bringers of wealth and fortune but in those it was at most a snake with a crown, not a snake in human form. With these here you have to be told what they are. And people worshipped gods like Guandi "merely as a sheet of paper" but for real and efficacious help they turned to magical animals. That is ironic.
But back to the mediums: In North China, those who became fox spirit mediums were considered genetically inferior by the other villagers? Is he sure? He mentioned that in Republican Beijing suburbs 3 kinds of people were most likely to be chosen as mediums:
1) mental/physical deficiencies
2) being an animal in previous life
3) transgressed against prohibitoons of the animal spirits
But what about that suggests genetic inferiority except 1?
Apparently local cults like these fox cults where generally labelled as illicit during imperal times and feudal superstitions later. Also, there could be taoists using captured foxes to do their bidding and gain fame and fortune... that sounds familiar.
I wonder, how many of these fox stories are actually due to people pranking each other or working in secrecy. And first foxes become agents of retribution and social uplift and now in late Qing times, they even play roles in official positions to pacify disturbances.
The book ends with a good question: Why is it almost impossible to find fox depictions in actualy fox form in chinese temples but they are common in Japanese ones?

[Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book after reading Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: The classic collection of eerie and fantastic Chinese stories of the supernatural, wanting to know more about fox people - and this seemed to be the most specific work in English. It's not long - just over 200 pages - but I found it slow going. The book presents a thoughtful analysis of how fox spirits have been portrayed in Chinese culture since the late Han, and how that portrayal has changed over time. More specifically, the author is interested in the way that local fox cults - 'cults' in the enthographic sense of ritual traditions, not in the popular American sense of a mind-controlling sect - have been a contested tradition. Women and lower status men have used them to step outside conventional social hierarchies by becoming mediators to transmit guidance from fox spirits. In that role, adherents could behave in ways that would bring punishment down on an ordinary person, but not on someone who had been temporarily possessed by a fox spirit. On the other hand, religious and political authorities, at least from the Ming on, appear to have developed various ways of co-opting or controlling fox cults.

The most interesting part of the book is in chapter 5 - but, alas, is all too brief - a discussion of the author's discovery of a modern fox cult operating out of a Buddhist temple near the northern city of Yulin. Little about the fox cult is visible in the temple, and the sacrifices brought to the fox spirit are camofluaged - for example, prayer flags that could simply be Buddhist - but adherents living nearby know, and visit the fox spirit's human interpreter for help with all sorts of ailments and problems. It would have been nice to read thicker description of how this works.

One aspect that made the book somewhat challenging, but is perhaps standard for works of religious anthropology: the author straddles a fence on whether the supernatural experiences of those who practice in a fox cult are to be understood in sociological or metaphysical terms. That is, a major part of the author's thesis appears to be that the fox cults enabled otherwise marginalized people to step out of the local social hierarchy and assert authority via their ties to the foxes. Some stories of possessed young women are read this way, and the passion gives the women a way to protest unhappy marriages or family situations, while disavowing personal responsibility if patriarchal authorities respond with hostility (rather than giving ground, which happens in other stories). But the author isn't quite explicit about this, as though he's also trying to avoid offending readers who believe that fox spirits are real and have played a role in their own family histories. This ambiguity in the language - I don't think the author himself is ambiguous in his opinion - muffles his top-level argument. Still, there's a lot of interesting details, with the potential for interesting points of comparison with the anthropology of elves or the fae in Northern European and Celtic cultural traditions.

As a side note, so many of the stories involve fox spirits - hu xian - being trapped in bottles that it made me wonder if there's any etymological relationship between the term and the Arabic djinn, or genies (and both are liminal figures in a variety of other ways - but the 'trapped in a bottle' trope really stands out). Wikipedia tells me this has been suggested before, but not whether there's any plausibility to it.

[Jie Hui · Rating 4 out of 5]

以前我不理解为什么佛庙和神庙的偏殿总会奉祀一些次级仙人（不是正神、佛和菩萨），譬如各路财神、狐仙、金华娘娘、泰山娘娘等。这本书打开了我对中国宗教的认识，原来在国家承认的正统宗教之外发展的次级信仰包含了许多寓意和个人化的需求。

有趣的是信仰的仙的庇佑“功效”会随着社会经济发展和人民的欲望而改变。而狐亦正亦邪的形象提供了更加有弹性的塑造空间，也比各种高高在上的正神更贴近日常生活中的种种私欲。

而狐仙的灵媒通常都是出身卑下的妇女，借由灵媒一角提升自己的社会地位，走出家庭成为专业服务社群。但在古代男权社会，流于家庭以外的女人反而被社会藐视。灵媒的社会地面呈现出的两面性正好也提示了社会对次级信仰或称淫祀的追崇后带有的唾弃和鄙视。

很有趣的书。这本书的经历也很坎坷，中译旧版绝版了13年，新译版于2025年3月才出版。

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intensive, indepth look at the position of the foxes in Chinese lore.

Early on it discusses translations. "Fox fairy" comes up. Which would be a pretty good translation, since they are rather in the same category as the, ehem, Fair Folk -- to be sure, they don't go after babies; they are vulnerable to virtuous officials rather than iron; when they present you with gold or the like, the problem is more likely that it's stolen goods than it's illusionary, but the principle's the same -- if only most people thought of the Fair Folk when thinking "fairy." (Plus the whole worship business.)

It goes through the legends, and the acquiring of power. Any animal that lives out centuries will acquire new powers, such as the ability to change into human form. The perils of foxes living nearby -- note that a grandfather fox, presiding over a family of foxes, is a venerable figure, while a lone young man or woman is perilous -- and the options of either exorcism or worship to deal with. Beneficent foxes who were your grandfather's mistress or concubine and so wish to help you. The use of fox-spirit mediums. The interactions between officials and foxes -- many officials worshiped foxes as the Great Guardian of the Imperial Seal, but this appears, from the legends, to be a way to prevent the mischievous foxes from stealing their badge of office.

Occasionally slips into using the fox legends to perpetuating some fairly standard boiler-plate about power-relations, but otherwise chock-full of interesting stuff.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 5 out of 5]

a super fun read! illicit cults should be the next frontier in studying Chinese religions! very sophisticated view about the negotiations of power embedded in the power of illicit fox cults!

[Kitsune Chuay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly shows fox believe in China's general society~