Bestiary · Chinese · Divine fox
Heavenly Fox
Also known as: Heavenly Foxes, tianhu
A fox of a thousand years that communicates with Heaven; it can be driven away but not killed, because it serves the Celestial Bureaus.
A Heavenly Fox (tianhu, 天狐) is a fox that has lived a thousand years and communicates with Heaven. In the tales, household gods cannot control it, and exorcists who capture one are warned that it "cannot be killed": such foxes serve as runners for the Celestial Bureaus. A Daoist rite quoted in the Youyang zazu describes the Heavenly Fox as nine-tailed and golden, serving in the palaces of the sun and moon.
Appears in 1 tale
- On Foxes Fox Spirits of the Taiping Guangji