What was the name of the earliest fox spirit?

1, the fox in the early tradition of China.

"The early Tang Dynasty has arrived, and the people are disturbing the fox god. They offer sacrifices in the room, beg for favor and eat and drink with others. Things are not the same. At that time, there was a saying that "without being sycophantic, you can't become a village." "

The Quotations of Worship the Fox here was written by Zhang Kun (658-730), a scholar in the Tang Dynasty. It seems that this ancient cultural tradition has been deeply rooted in the history of China spanning thousands of years, because this passage was found in about 80 records of fox spirits from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) to the early Song Dynasty (960- 1279). The encyclopedic anthology Taiping Guangji (widely recorded in the period of Taiping and Xingguo) compiled in 10 century. This chapter discusses the concept of fox god from ancient times to Song Dynasty. First of all, it traces the mythical origin of the fox and its "divination" significance in China's political culture, and analyzes the folk beliefs of the fox charm and the changes of the fox image in the legend of the Western Queen Mother. Then, with the rich legendary mineral deposits of foxes in Taiping Guangji, the symbolic significance of foxes in the specific cultural environment in the late Tang Dynasty was discussed. Finally, based on official history, Taoist literature, local chronicles and anecdotes of literati, this paper discusses the exorcism of foxes and the efforts made by the state and religion to suppress foxism. In the early history of China, the fox god experienced long-term, complicated and frequent contradictions and conflicts.

witchcraft

Fox omen

Among many other animals in China's ancient literature, the fox is often used as a symbol of omen. Shan Hai Jing records a large number of wild mountains, distant seas, exotic animal and plant populations and legendary creatures, among which a large number of records about foxes and foxlike animals are introduced. Their appearance heralds war and disaster. In particular, it mentioned the nine-tailed fox in several places:

Three hundred miles to the east, it's called the Green Mountain ... Some wild animals, like foxes and Kyubi no Youko, sound like babies and can eat people, but the eaters are not cunning.

In the mysterious literature of Han dynasty, the nine-tailed fox is not a man-eating beast, but a symbol of good luck. It is said that Shang Tang (16th century-1 1 th century ascended the throne) and "Dongyi" both appeared when they surrendered to the rule of King Wen. The legendary Dayu Emperor also saw a white fox with several tails. At that time, he was 30 years old, and the fox was a sign that he was about to get married, indicating the prosperity of his family and great political achievements. The auspicious significance of the nine-tailed fox is also explained in White Tiger Tong (a summary of White Tiger Hall). This book records the discussion of Confucian scholars in the court of the later Han Dynasty (AD 25-220):

Fox Kyubi no Youko? The fox died in the first hill, never forgetting its roots and the danger of Ming 'an. Kyubi no Youko, too? Nine concubines have their own places and many children. Who's the last one? After the Ming dynasty, it was prosperous.

Here, the fox is endowed with moral significance. According to the Confucian classic Book of Rites in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-6 AD), the fox was regarded as a model of benevolence, because it faced its own nest when it died, and taught human beings to observe such etiquette at all times and not to forget their spiritual home. Moreover, the nine-tailed fox is related to the rule of the holy king and princess. This is to emphasize the importance of the continuation of the princess's ancestral blood, which requires them to be properly controlled by the emperor. This is the basic element of the long-term stability of the dynasty. This also implies that the princess is a potential source of royal discord and national disaster.

This tradition of omen for political purposes continued throughout the Six Dynasties. Guo Pu (AD 276-324), an annotator of Shan Hai Jing in Jin Dynasty, was a famous prophet. He wrote the famous Ode to the Nine-tailed Fox:

The beast of the green hills, the fox of Kyubi no Youko, has auspicious scenery. When it comes out, it will give books as a symbol of charm.

Historians in this period showed great interest in describing the similarities between animal behavior, natural phenomena and the current political situation. In these histories, the fox was combined with the ideal king of the Zhou Dynasty as a symbol of kindness and wise rule. The fox deliberately caught in the wild is regarded as a sacred symbol of the dynasty's luck. It was finally abolished at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. When Wang Wei ascended the throne, an unusual red fox was found in the north of Zhencheng County (now Jiangsu Province), surrounded by dozens of ordinary foxes. This fox is recognized as a nine-tailed fox because it has many forks on its long hairy tail. It was sent to the court together with a petition to congratulate him on his accession to the throne. Beginning in 478 AD, Emperor Xiaowen (47 1-499), an ambitious Tuoba Guojun, launched his grand sinicization policy-transforming people's life and government rule into a way of Han people. At this time, auspicious foxes were reported, found in many different areas in northern China, and then presented to the imperial court. This tradition continued until the Tang Dynasty, especially during the period of Emperor Taizong (627-648), after he killed two brothers, forced his father to abdicate and seized the throne. Emperor Taizong ascended the throne in August of the ninth year of Wude (626). In June this year, it was said that a black fox appeared in Zhengzhou. In the following years, black foxes and white foxes were sent to the court as tributes all over the country. These records strengthen the relationship between the auspicious omen of the fox and Puze's wise rule, and use the symbolic meaning of the fox to consolidate the newly established regime or express loyalty to the local area.

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