
says that the celestial fox has nine tails and a golden color. "Among the arts of the Way, there is a specific doctrine of the celestial fox. The Youyang Zazu made a connection between nine-tailed foxes and the divine: Such beings are able to know things at more than a thousand miles' distance they can poison men by sorcery, or possess and bewilder them, so that they lose their memory and knowledge and when a fox is thousand years old, it ascends to heaven and becomes a celestial fox." "When a fox is fifty years old, it can transform itself into a woman when a hundred years old, it becomes a beautiful female, or a spirit medium, or an adult male who has sexual intercourse with women. According to the first-century Baihutong ( Debates in the White Tiger Hall), the fox's nine tails symbolize abundant progeny.ĭescribing the transformation and other features of the fox, Guo Pu (276-324) made the following comment: In Han iconography, the nine-tailed fox is sometimes depicted at Mount Kunlun and along with Xi Wangmu in her role as the goddess of immortality. In one ancient myth, Yu the Great encountered a white nine-tailed fox, which he interpreted as an auspicious sign that he would marry Nüjiao. Whoever eats it will be protected against insect-poison (gu)." It makes a sound like a baby and is a man-eater. There is a beast here whose form resembles a fox with nine tails.

"Three hundred li farther east is Green-Hills Mountain, where much jade can be found on its south slope and green cinnabar on its north. However, in chapter 1, another aspect of the nine-tailed fox is described: In chapter 14 of the Shanhaijing, Guo Pu had commented that the nine-tailed fox was an auspicious omen that appeared during times of peace. According to another version, it is located north of Sunrise Valley." The foxes there have four legs and nine tails. "The Land of Green-Hills lies north of Tianwu.
