The Legend of the Nine-tailed Fox —— The Origin and Evolution of the Myth of the Nine-tailed Fox

The nine-tailed fox is an animal in China mythology, which originated from The Classic of Mountains and Seas compiled by China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Nan Shanjing said: There are wild animals in Qingqiu Mountain, such as foxes and Kyubi no Youko. In ancient times, there was a man named Xia Dayu who married a woman named Shen Hua. One of the mysterious things is the nine-tailed fox. In addition, the legend of the nine-tailed fox also spread to Japan and the Korean peninsula. Legend has it that the fox's tail is a place to store aura. When the fox absorbs enough aura, its tail will split in two and eventually be divided into Kyubi no Youko. When a fox has Kyubi no Youko, it will be immortal. In ancient myths and legends, Kyubi no Youko's fox was a treasure of peace, and the idea of obeying orders prevailed in the Han Dynasty, so the original totem god, the nine-tailed fox, was also symbolized as a mysterious symbol of good luck. At the latest in the early Northern Song Dynasty, the nine-tailed fox was demonized.

Nine-tailed fox, mysterious fox and white fox first appeared in the totem belief of primitive religion. Shan Hai Jing records the nine-tailed fox in autumn. According to these ancient records, the nine-tailed fox is actually the totem of the primitive tribes of Qingqiu in the east or south. Shan Hai Jing said that it can eat people, indicating that it is sacred in threatening the enemy and protecting the security of the tribe. It is also said that eaters are not evil-eating their meat can ward off evil spirits, which is obviously the primitive witchcraft related to the totem belief of the nine-tailed fox. People believe that the nine-tailed fox has the magic to ward off evil spirits.

In ancient times, there was a man named Xia Dayu who married a woman named Shen Hua. One of the mysterious things is the nine-tailed fox. According to Lu Chunqiu, Chunqiu Wu, Yi and other lost articles quoted in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dayu came to Tushan-according to textual research, he met a nine-tailed white fox in Songxian County, Henan Province, and listened to Tushan people sing Sui White Tiger and Pang Pang. If he got married here, it was obviously because it was recorded very late, so it was added to the ideological and cultural concepts of later generations. If we return to the original appearance, it is that Dayu married a white fox with nine tails in Tu Shan. The hidden cultural significance behind the marriage between man and beast is that Tushan Stone is a tribe with nine-tailed fox as its totem, and the nine-tailed fox is regarded as its ancestor by Tushan Stone. Because the nine-tailed fox has such a beautiful thing, future generations of foxes always like to proudly say that they are descendants of Tu Shan and show off their noble bloodline.

The concept of deification prevailed in Han dynasty, so the nine-tailed fox, which was originally a totem god, was deified and became a mysterious symbol of good luck.

In the history of fox culture in China, the fox in Han Dynasty suffered an unfortunate thing, that is, it was demonized. Under the influence of the concept of the old monster, the ordinary fox is no better than the dragon and phoenix anywhere, and it is difficult to maintain its sacred position. Although fox spirits and decepticons were very popular in the Tang Dynasty, they were already ghosts and gods. Because they are the gods of demons, they are not as serious as the gods of justice, and they have to be unscrupulous, just like the sun before retribution. However, in the Tang Dynasty, the most powerful Decepticons, Decepticons and Kyubi no Youko still maintained a decent style. Unfortunately, the glorious history of the nine-tailed fox will eventually end, just because it has a greater incarnation than other foxes, and because it has the greatest incarnation, it has become the most demon fox after being demonized.

At the latest in the early Northern Song Dynasty, the nine-tailed fox was demonized. Tiankuang's scholar said that when Chen Pengnian was in Song Zhenzong, he was very cunning and good at seducing the emperor, so people's eyes were nine-tailed foxes. It can be seen that the nine-tailed fox is no longer a Rui fox or a Shen fox in people's minds, but a bad thing. During this period, a famous woman in China's ancient history, said to be a nine-tailed fox, spread to Japan, that is, Shang Zhouwang's concubine da ji. At present, the book "Cultural Essence" inherited by Japan includes one book after another, namely "Be sycophantic" by Jiang Dafu, saying that Yin Da is a nine-tailed fox.

Flattery records He Kang's third year in Japan, which is equivalent to Song Huizong's period. It can be seen that this statement existed before China. In fact, Bai Juyi once compared the concubines of da ji and Zhou Youwang to foxes in the Tang Dynasty. They can lose others or overwhelm others' country. When the nine-tailed fox became a demon, Princess da ji, who lost her motherland because of her beauty, was said to be the essence of the nine-tailed fox.

Kyubi no Youko's nine-tailed fox dressed as a fox is a perfect combination of super foxes. The description in the novel began with the engraving of Wu Wang's storytelling in Yuan Dynasty, which was widely circulated in the novel The Romance of Kamikaze by Long Zhanghui in Ming Dynasty.

In the art of using saber, only Kyubi no Youko Golden Fox absorbed the essence of da ji's soul and turned itself into an empty shell of da ji. After King Yin Ke, da ji was finally forced to reveal her true colors by Jiang Taigong, then put her in a bag and killed her with a wooden hammer. The reason why it took so much effort was because the executioner of the execution made her thousand demon eyes unable to move.

The Romance of the Gods, based on King Wu's Cut the Book, gives full play to the seductive nature of Kyubi no Youko fox da ji for thousands of years, and writes down many bad things she has done. On the contrary, Shang Zhouwang's talents and soldiers and civilians are not bad. In addition, there are loyal ministers and excellent generals outside, and there are virtuous queens and beautiful ladies inside. At first, Jiangshan was very stable. It is this Millennium Kyubi no Youko fox that has lost his truth, the essence of the nine-headed pheasant and the essence of the jade pipa. Interestingly, when da ji was beheaded, there was a fascinating description, and the book King of Tournament was more vivid and detailed. The novel tries to show how she charmed the soft and stupid execution sergeant, and finally Jiang Ziya took her head away with a gourd. The image of Kyubi no Youko, the fox in the Romance of the Gods, pushed the concept of fox seduction of ancient prostitutes to the extreme, pushed the concept of the most important fox-the nine-tailed fox to the extreme, and pushed the taboo concept of playing with women and the concept of not losing one's country because of playing with women to the extreme.

Since then, some novels have written the nine-tailed fox. For example, the jade-faced fairy in the popular novel "Smith" in the Qing Dynasty was Kyubi no Youko's jade-faced fox spirit, which was finally surrendered by Lv Dongbin and cut off. The novel "Nine-tailed Fox" in the late Qing Dynasty is not about a fox demon, but a prostitute Hu Baoyu, nicknamed the nine-tailed fox. It is said in the novel that the nine-tailed fox is the most lewd and charming, and the fox is particularly fierce than the ordinary fox, so it is more lewd than Hu Baoyu. The concept of integration of fox and prostitute was very popular in Qing Dynasty. Prostitutes are foxes, and the worst prostitute is of course a nine-tailed fox.

From the nine-tailed fox Tu Shan to the nine-tailed fox da ji, the sacredness and glory of the nine-tailed fox have been completely lost, and the nine-tailed fox has become the symbol of the most charming and the worst woman. Jin Pingmei and Ximen Qing's first wife Wu Yueniang called Pan Jinlian, the youngest wife, a nine-tailed fox, which was a very vicious curse.