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