Celestial Fox 1 Print

The Fox spirit is one of the most popular creatures in Chinese mythology. Every Chinese child knows about Foxes who take the shape of beautiful women and trick men into marriage. In contemporary Asian pop culture, there are films and TV shows featuring seductive Fox women. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (or Shan Hai Jing) is an ancient text with entries that date from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century BC. In this compilation of mythical and fabulous landscapes, the Nine-Tailed Fox is mentioned as companion to the Queen Mother of the West, a goddess who first appears 33 centuries ago on an oracle bone inscription from the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046 BC). During the Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), the Fox and the Queen Mother of the West could be found together depicted on funerary artefacts. With the Fox as a helping spirit, the Queen Mother could transcend worlds, guide the deceased to heaven, and confer immortality. The Fox was therefore an auspicious omen - source Legends of the Fox.