The nine-tailed fox is a kind of animal in ancient myths and legends in our country, and it is also one of the most common images in the history of Chinese culture.
What’s interesting is that this cultural image has undergone tremendous changes in history, almost from one extreme to the other-
In Han Dynasty , the nine-tailed fox was generally regarded as auspicious thing. Respected; but since the Tang and Song dynasties, it has gradually fallen into the altar and has become a representative of monsters and spirits. From
to the appearance of the image of Su Daji in "The Romance of the Gods", the nine-tailed fox has become synonymous with disaster to the country and the people. How did
happen?
In the existing literature, the earliest record of the nine-tailed fox is "Shan Hai Jing".
"The Great Wilderness East Classic" says: "There is a country of green hills, and there are nine tails of foxes."
"Overseas East Longitude" also said: "The country of Qingqiu is in its north, ... its foxes have four legs and nine tails."
is in these records. In the middle, the nine-tailed fox was only recorded as a kind of ancient beast , and there is no difference between good and evil, good and evil.
But as late as the Han Dynasty, the nine-tailed fox has been regarded as auspicious by people and has been given a special meaning.
According to the secret literature of the Han Dynasty, when the founder of the Shang Dynasty Chengtang became the emperor, there was a nine-tailed fox.
In the time of Zhou Wenwang, Dongyi came to surrender, and the nine-tailed fox also appeared.
Earlier when Dayu, the founder of the Xia Dynasty, was young, a white nine-tailed fox appeared in front of Yu, indicating that he would marry the daughter of the Tushan clan and his family would prosper, and he would become the king.
The reason why the nine-tailed fox became auspicious may have something to do with its "nine tails" representing the prosperous descendants and prosperous clan.
As recorded in the "Baihu Tongyi" of the Eastern Han Confucian scholars who discussed academic research in the court, "Who must have the nine tails? The nine concubines get what they want, and the descendants will prosper. What are the tails? When the Ming Dynasty is also Sheng Sheng."
includes Among the Han paintings and stone carvings that have been discovered, the nine-tailed fox is often accompanied by toads, jade rabbits and three-legged crows by the Queen Mother of the West. This is probably related to the nine-tailed fox symbolizing the prosperity of offspring.
In addition, the nine-tailed fox became auspicious, which may also be related to the fox being regarded as a "German beast" in the pre-Qin period.
According to the "Book of Rites" and other classics, a fox will turn its head toward the lair where it was born when dying. This is a Confucian view of not forgetting its roots and benevolent behavior ( "If the fox is dead, don’t forget the root" ).
, coupled with the prevalence of the thoughts and Furui doctrine in the Han Dynasty, the nine-tailed fox, as a sign of the peaceful and prosperous age and a symbolic expression of the will of the heavens, was valued and promoted by the rulers and became one of the signs showing the prosperity of the king and the success of the people.
In the Han Dynasty and later Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties , history books with nine-tailed foxes as auspicious records can be said to be endless. In order to cater to the intent of the rulers, one after another, for example:
Wei Wendi Cao Pi ascended the throne, and one grows seven or eight. Chi, a big red-purple fox, led dozens of small foxes, appeared in the north of Juancheng county. Because the big fox tail is long and hairy, it has many forks, and it is considered to be a nine-tailed fox, so it was presented to the emperor as auspicious.
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, when the Tuoba regime entered the Central Plains, it was reported that the nine-tailed fox appeared many times in various places and was presented to the court as auspicious by local officials. After the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Northern Qi Dynasty, and Northern Zhou Dynasty, the offering of nine-tailed foxes was still common.
is the great prophet Guo Pu who wrote the "Shan Hai Jing", once wrote a song "Nine Tailed Fox Praise", praising its auspiciousness:
"Qingqiu Qi Beast, nine-tailed fox. If you have a good view, you will get the title. The book. Zuo Rui in the Zhou Dynasty, with the symbol of the spirit symbol."
Until the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, Qu Tan Siddha still said in the "Kaiyuan Zhanjing": "Nine-tailed fox, Sicheng Sheng Wang Dezheng should be in harmony."
However, in the official history of the Tang Dynasty and beyond, there is no record of using the nine-tailed fox as auspicious to the ruler.
The nine-tailed fox has since stepped down from the altar, and has gradually evolved into another extreme-from the auspicious beast representing the prosperity of the country to a despised monster.
This may first be "dragged" by ordinary foxes-no matter how sacred the nine-tailed fox is, it still belongs to the fox family; among the folks, foxes are often regarded as goblins that can transform and confuse people.
As early as in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Xu Shen's "Shu Wen Jie Zi" defined the fox: "Fox is also a monster, and the ghost is multiplied by it." This is based on the fox as a demon, but also related to ghosts.
The two prescriptions unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb suggest that fox spirits can be fatal; and to cure diseases caused by fox spirits, special incantations are required.
Guo Pu, who wrote "Nine-Tailed Fox Praise", once described the demon nature of foxes as follows:
"A fox is fifty years old and can be transformed into a woman; a hundred years old is a beauty, a witch, or a husband and Women handover. Knowing thousands of miles of foreign affairs, being kind and charming, making people confused and demented; a thousand years old is connected to Tiantong, and is a Tianhu."
And in the Weijin Southern and Northern Dynasties' monster novels and Tang Dynasty legendary novels, there are fox-related stories. Stories abound.
Ru Ganbao tells the story of a man being fascinated by a fox in "Sou Shen Ji", and through the mouth of a Taoist priest: the fox is an ancient adulteress named Azi, who turned into a fox. Therefore, most fox spirits call themselves Azi.
Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, described the change of foxes in a poem advising people to reboot, which is deceptive:
, ancient fox, demon and old, good color for a woman.
head turned into a cloud The face changes to makeup, and the big tail drags to make a long red dress.
walks slowly along the deserted village road, where people are quiet when the sun is dying.
or singing or dancing or crying, the green eyebrows are not raised and the face is low.
suddenly smiles, There are ten people and nine fans.
......"
However, Although there are many records of foxes in the Tang Dynasty literature, there are very few nine-tailed foxes. Because of its sacred aura, the nine-tailed fox has not been directly referred to as a demon in the Tang Dynasty.
In the Song Dynasty and beyond, the nine-tailed fox finally degenerates into an abominable monster-
After the Northern Song Dynasty royal family, Zhao Lingchou wrote in "Hou Makolu": "A prostitute in Qiantang, a prostitute with good sex, charming and charming, and his name is nine. Tailed wild fox".
Tian Kuang, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, also recorded in "The Scholars' Public Discussion": "At that time, the head was a nine-tailed fox, and it was not a state of prosperity, and it was so charming and confused."
Southern Song Confucian Ye Shi called the nine-tailed fox as " demon fox also, the sign of death" in "Xi Xue Ji Yan".
In addition, Li Gang, a famous anti-jin minister in the Southern Song Dynasty, had a verse saying: "Deeply understand the evil nine-tailed fox"; the great poet Lu You also has the "demonic fox nine-tailed cave China" in his poem. and many more.
can be seen, in the Song Dynasty, the nine-tailed fox has been completely demonized, and the sacred halo on its head has disappeared.
After the Song Dynasty, the image of the nine-tailed fox as an evildoer was fixed, not only causing harm to the world, but also causing harm to the country and the people.
Among them, the image of Su Daji in the Ming Dynasty gods and demons novel "The Romance of the Gods" is the most well-known: she is possessed by the nine-tailed vixen, who was ordered by Nuwa to confuse the king of Shang and destroy the fortune of Yin and Shang.
In the novel "Nine-Tailed Fox" in the late Qing Dynasty, the demon nature of the nine-tailed fox is summarized as follows:
"The most kinky fox, the name Nine-tailed, is not only more lewd, but also a phantom humanoid. There is a technique of collecting yin and replenishing yang, which is more powerful than ordinary foxes."
The nine-tailed fox has fallen from the most noble sacred thing among foxes to a more dangerous and hateful evil spirit than ordinary foxes.
Why was the image of the nine-tailed fox reversed during the Tang and Song Dynasties? In addition to being dragged down by ordinary foxes, some scholars pointed out that is the same pronunciation of "fox" and "Hu", and Chinese discriminates against foreign Hu people, so they called "hu" as "fox", so it came to the Tang Dynasty, the official history There is no record of the nine-tailed fox as auspicious and dedicated to the ruler.
And the auspicious admiration of Song Dynasty is Xuanwu, namely turtle snake. Moreover, the Northern Song Dynasty has been threatened by the military from the northern minorities since the founding of the People’s Republic of China; the Southern Song Dynasty not only lost half of the country, but also was often oppressed by the Jin Dynasty, and its dignity was discouraged. While the Song people hated the Jin people, they also suffered from foxes living in the north. Annoying (the ancients believed that "there is no wild fox in the south, and no partridge in the north") , the image status of the nine-tailed fox continued to decline, and finally became a evildoer that harmed the country and the people.
However, today, the image of the nine-tailed fox seems to have recovered. For example, in the popular fantasy drama "Three Lives III Shili Peach Blossom" a few years ago, the nine-tailed fox family from Qingqiu has a high status and is highly respected by the Three Realms.
This is a return to the original positioning of the nine-tailed fox "ancient animal"!
-end-
[If you feel good, please like and follow us, the code word is not easy, thank you for your support! ]
related reading:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-