On Foxes 說狐

When foxes reach fifty years of age, they can transform into adult women. At a hundred years they can be beautiful girls, and perform sorcery. Some become husbands and enjoy carnal relations with women. They have awareness of matters extending up to a thousand li away. They are skilled at wielding noxious influence and charms, and can perplex and mislead people, stealing away their wisdom. At a thousand years they can receive the direct blessings of heaven, as a divine fox.

From Xuanzhongji.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), ix, 447.3652:

說狐

狐五十歲。能變化為婦人。百歲為美女。為神巫。或為丈夫與女人交接。能知千里外事。善蠱魅。使人迷惑失智。千歲即與天通。為天狐。

出玄中記

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The Hairy Woman 毛女

The hairy woman’s courtesy name was Yujiang. She was seen among the Huaying Peaks by many generations of recluses and hunters. Her body had sprouted hairs, and she herself said that she was a palace maid to Qin Shihuang (259-210 BCE). When the Qin fell, she went into exile in the hills. A Person of the Way taught her to eat pine needles, and she thus avoided freezing and starvation. Her body gradually changed to become like this over a period up to the Western Han era (206 BCE -24 CE). This is already more than a hundred and seventy years ago. Taken from the Liexianzhuan (Biographies of Immortals).[1]

Li Fang, et al., Taiping guangji, ii, 59.365:

毛女

毛女。女字玉姜。在華陰山中。山客獵師。世世見之。形體生毛。自言秦始皇宮人也。秦亡。流亡入山。道士教食松葉。遂不饑寒。身輕如此。至西漢時。已百七十餘年矣。出列仙傳

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), ii, 59.365-66

[1] On the Liexianzhuan 列仙傳, see http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Daoists/liexianzhuan.html

Li Yuangong 李元恭

*Translation revised with the generous help of Ofer Waldman – thanks Ofer!*

The Tang-era Vice-President of the Ministry of Personnel Li Yuangong[1] had a granddaughter, a Miss Cui, peaceful of countenance and extremely beautiful, fifteen or sixteen years old, who was suddenly afflicted by a demonic illness. When this had lasted for a long time, the fox manifested itself as a young man, calling himself ‘Gentleman Hu’; they repeatedly sought scholars of magic, but were unable to make it go away. Yuangong’s son possessed a broad education and great wisdom, and often asked: “Does Gentleman Hu also possess learning or not?” And so the fox engaged in discussions, missing not a single topic. He employed many questions to probe the fox, who tended to be closely acquainted with music. After a long time of this, he addressed Miss Cui, saying: “Nobody should remain without education.” He therefore brought an elderly man to teach Miss Cui Classics and History, and over three years she acquired a degree of expertise [204] in the cardinal principles of the various schools. He also brought a person to teach her calligraphy, and, after a single year, she came to be considered an expert calligrapher. He also said: “How can a married woman not have studied music? The konghou and pipa, though present in all music, are not so suitable as study of the qin.” He further summoned another person, saying that he was skilled at playing the qin, and stating that his surname was Hu, and that he was a scholar of Yangdi County in the Sui era. He taught her all the various tunes, preparing her fully in their subtleties, and she was quite unsurpassed on other famous songs. As to himself he claimed: “I am skilled at Guanglingsan,[2] which many encounters with Ji Zhong San[3] did not get him to teach it to other men.” He was also especially good at transmitting the wonders of Wuyeti.[4] Li later asked: “Why does Gentleman Hu not marry and return home?” The fox was extremely pleased, bowing again in thanks and saying: “I have long cherished this, too, but have not dared, purely due to being a pleb” That day, he bowed over and over to the family, leaping about in the utmost joy. Li asked: “Mr Hu wishes to return home with his wife; where is his residence?” The fox said: “Before the residence there are two large bamboos.” At that time the Li residence had a bamboo garden, and Li, going to search around there, found a small hole between two of the great trees; it turned out to be a fox’s lair, drawing water to fill it. At first they captured a badger, a raccoon dog, and several dozen small foxes. Eventually an elderly fox, wearing an unlined green robe, followed them out of the hole; it was the same robe he was always wearing. The family spoke joyfully: “Now Mr Hu has emerged!” They killed him, and the strange events stopped.
From Guangyiji 廣異記 (Extensive Records of the Strange)

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), ix, 449.3671-72:

李元恭
唐吏部侍郎李元恭。其外孫女崔氏。容色殊麗。年十五六。忽得魅疾。久之。狐遂見形為少年。自稱 [3672] 胡郎。累求術士不能去。元恭子博學多智。常問胡郎亦學否。狐乃談論。無所不至。多質疑于狐。頗狎樂。久之。謂崔氏曰。人生不可不學。乃引一老人授崔經史。前後三載。頗通諸家大義。又引一人。教之書。涉一載。又以工書著稱。又云。婦人何不會音聲。箜篌琵琶。此故凡樂。不如學琴。復引一人至。云善彈琴。言姓胡。是隋時陽翟縣博士。悉教諸曲。備盡其妙。及他名曲。不可勝紀。自云亦善廣陵散。比屢見嵇中散。不使授人。其于烏夜啼。尤善傳其妙。李後問。胡郎何以不迎婦歸家。狐甚喜。便拜謝云。亦久懷之。所不敢者。以人微故爾。是日遍拜家人。歡躍備至。李問胡郎欲迎女子。宅在何所。狐云。某舍門前有二大竹。時李氏家有竹園。李因尋行所。見二大竹間有一小孔。竟是狐窟。引水灌之。初得猯狢及他狐數十枚。最後有一老狐。衣綠衫。從孔中出。是其素所著衫也。家人喜云。胡郎出矣。殺之。其怪遂絕。出《廣異記》

The version found in Guangyiji is essentially identical; here is the Chinese text, from the combined volume Tang Lin 唐臨; Dai Fu 戴孚, Mingbaoji; Guangyiji 冥報記 / 廣異記 (Records of Netherworld Vengeance / Extensive Records of The Strange) (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1992), pp. 203-4:

李元恭

唐吏部侍郎李元恭，其外孫女崔氏，容色殊麗，年十五六，忽得魅疾。久之，狐遂見形為少年，自稱胡郎，累求術士不能去。元恭子博學多智，常問：「胡郎亦學否？」狐乃談論，無所不至，多質疑于狐，頗狎樂。久之，謂崔氏曰：「人生不可不學。」乃引一老人授崔經史，前後三載，頗通 [204] 諸家大義。又引一人教之書，涉一載，又以工書著稱。又云：「婦人何不會音聲，箜篌琵琶，此故凡樂，不如學琴。」復引一人至，云善彈琴，言姓胡，是隋時陽翟縣博士。悉教諸曲，備盡其妙，及他名曲，不可勝紀。自云：「亦善《廣陵散》，比屢見嵇中散，不使授人。」其于《烏夜啼》尤善，傳其妙。李後問：「胡郎何以不迎婦歸家？」狐甚喜，便拜謝云：「亦久懷之，所不敢者，以人微故爾。」是日，遍拜家人，歡躍備至。李問：「胡郎欲迎女子，宅在何所？」狐云：「某舍門前有二大竹。」時李氏家有竹園，李因尋行所，見二大竹間有一小孔，竟是狐窟，引水灌之。初得猯狢及他狐數十枚，最後有一老狐，衣綠衫，從孔中出，是其素所著衫也。家人喜云：「胡郎出矣！」殺之，其怪遂絕。

[1] On Li Yuangong 李元恭 (d. c. 702 CE), see CBDB Person ID 0195948.

[2] On this piece of music, see https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B9%BF%E9%99%B5%E6%95%A3.

[3] This refers to Ji Kang嵆康 courtesy name Shuye 叔夜 (223-62 CE), an acclaimed scholar and qin player. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Kang.

[4] On this piece of music, see https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B9%8C%E5%A4%9C%E5%95%BC.

Secret Virtue Makes A Number One Scholar 陰騭狀元

Ping Jing, courtesy name Dangshi, was from Xianning in Ezhou. His father was a merchant, and, when he was in the prime of life but lacking children, he was about to depart for the capital when his wife gave him several silver tablets and said: “The gentleman does not yet have a son; take these as the means to buy a concubine.” When he reached the capital, he bought a concubine, drew up a contract and paid over the money. When he asked the concubine where she came from, she shed tears but refused to speak. When he asked her more firmly, she then said her father held office, but, having suffered shortfalls in his transported goods, had sold her into concubinage as a plan to repay the losses. Grieved by this, he could not bear to touch her, and sent her back to her father, without insisting on the return of his money. When he returned, his wife asked: “Where is the concubine you bought?” He told her the whole story. His wife said: “If the gentleman uses his heart like this, why worry about lacking a son?” Several months later, his wife became pregnant. When the due date drew near, the villagers dreamt that the air was filled with drumming and trumpeting, greeting the number one scholar arriving at the Ping household. The next morning, Jing was born. Taking delight in reading, he came first (yuan) in the provincial examinations, came first (yuan) in the metropolitan examination, and achieved first place (yuan) in the overall ranking; his contemporaries called him ‘Ping Three-Yuan’.

Anon., Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi, 前 2.108 (Tale 187):

陰騭狀元

馮京，字當世，鄂州咸寧人。其父商也，壯歲無子，將如京師，其妻授以白金數笏，曰：「君未有子，可以此為買妾之資。」及至京師，買一妾，立券償錢矣。問妾所自來，涕泣不肯言。固問之，乃言其父有官，因綱運欠折，鬻妾以為賠償之計。遂惻然不忍犯，遣還其父，不索其錢。及歸，妻問：「買妾安在？」具告以故。妻曰：「君用心如此，何患無子！」居數月，妻有娠。將誕，里人皆夢鼓吹喧闐迎狀元至馮家。次早，生京。喜讀書，領舉為解元，省試為省元，登第為狀元，世號為馮三元。

Yuan Haowen 元好問, Chang Zhenguo 常振國 (ed), Xu Yijian zhi 續夷堅志 (Continued Records of the Listener), and Anon., Jin Xin 金心 (ed.), Huhai xinwen yijian xuzhi 湖海新聞夷堅續志 (Continuation of Records of the Listener with New Items from the Lakes and Seas) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986).

Ban Meng 班孟

Ban Meng’s background is unknown; some say they were a woman. Able to travel by flying for days at a time, they could also sit and talk to people from the empty air. They were also able to enter the earth, at first disappearing from feet to chest, then entering fully, only leaving a kerchief behind, which after a long time would disappear entirely, too. Slicing the ground by pointing, a well could be constructed ready to be draw from. Blowing the roof-tiles from houses, tiles would be sent flying among people’s houses and homes. Mulberry shoots numbering in the thousands, Meng could combine them all into one, piled like a mountain and remaining like that for more than ten days; by blowing on them they could be returned to growing as before in their former places. They could moreover swallow a mouthful of ink, stretch out paper before them, chew and spit it out, the whole forming characters across the paper, each bearing full meaning. They took wine and cinnabar, but over four hundred years less and less, eventually entering Dazhishan.

From Shenxianzhuan.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), ii, 61.382

班孟

班孟者。不知何許人也。或云女子也。能飛行經日。又能坐空虛中與人語。又能入地中。初去時沒足至胸。漸入。但餘冠幘。良久而盡沒不見。以指刺地。即成井可吸。吹人屋上瓦。瓦飛入人家間。桑果數千株。孟皆拔聚之成一。積如山。如此十餘日。吹之各還其故處如常。又能含墨一口中。舒紙着前。嚼墨噴之。皆成文字。竟紙。各有意義。服酒丹。年四百歲更少。入大治山中。出神仙傳

Taixuan Nü 太玄女

The Taixuannü, surname Zhuan, personal name He, lost her father as a child. Mother and child lived together for some time, and all said they would not survive long. Their sadness became worry. She often said: “The life of a human, once lost, cannot be restored. Moreover, I have heard that this span of life is limited, and life cannot be extended without perfecting the Way.” She then went to call on a sagely teacher, purifying her heart, seeking the Way and achieving the *wangzi* techniques. After practicing this for several years, she was then able to enter water without getting wet. At times of deep cold and snow, she could climb the ice in an unlined robe showing no change in countenance, warm in body and able to go on for several days. Moreover she was able to visit government offices, palace chambers, city markets and private residences in many other places. Not thinking this strange, pointing at them they would shift from their previous location. Doors and gates bearing locks would open upon her gesture; pointed at, mountains would crumble, pointed at, trees would fall; pointed at again, all of these would be restored. Taking disciples travelling through the mountains, when the sun set, she struck the rock with her staff, and opened up a door. Entering, there were chambers with beds, curtains and canopies, with food, provisions and wine as if this were normal. Even were she to travel ten thousand li, her whereabouts would often be like this. She could order small items to grow suddenly to the size of a house, and big things to shrink suddenly down to be like a hair or grain. Sometimes she would spit fire to cover the heavens, and sigh to extinguish it. She was also able to sit among flames, her clothes and shoes never scorching. Within a short period, she would change into an old man, change into a small child, change into a carthorse; there was no transformation she could not achieve. She practiced the thirty-six arts with complete dedication, bringing people back to life, and saving innumerable folk. It is not known from where her food or clothing came, and none achieved her powers. Her colour reduced ever more, but the hair on her temples was raven-black. Suddenly, in broad daylight, she ascended to heaven and departed.

From Nüxianzhuan.

Li Fang 李昉, et al., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (Extensive Gleanings from the Era of Great Harmony), 10 vols (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), ii, 59.363

太玄女

太玄女，姓顓，名和，少喪父。或相其母子，皆曰不壽。惻然以為憂。常曰：「人之處世，一失不可復生。況聞壽限之促，非修道不可以延生也。」遂行訪明師，洗心求道，得王子之術。行之累年，遂能入水不濡。盛雪寒時，單衣冰上，而顏色不變，身體溫煖，可至積日。又能徙官府宮殿城市屋宅於他處，視之無異，指之即失其所在，門戶櫝櫃有關鑰者，指之即開，指山山摧，指樹樹拆，更指之，即復如故。將弟子行山間，日暮，以杖叩石，即開門戶。入其中，屋宇床褥幃帳，廩供酒食如常。雖行萬里，所在常爾。能令小物忽大如屋，大物忽小如毫芒。或吐火張天，噓之即滅。又能坐炎火之中，衣履不燃。須臾之間，或化老翁，或為小兒，或為車馬，無所不為。行三十六術甚效，起死廻生，救人無數。不知其何所服食，亦無得其術者。顏色益少，鬢髮如鴉。忽白日昇天而去。出女仙傳

A Girl With Two Heads And Four Arms 兩頭四臂女

During Emperor Ling’s reign (168-89 CE), a girl was born in Luoyang with two heads and four arms.

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories), 上1.7 (Tale 52):

兩頭四臂女

靈帝時，洛陽女子生時兩頭四臂。

Li Rong 李冗, Du yi zhi, 獨異志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories) in Du yi zhi, Xuanshi Zhi 獨異志，宣室志 (Outstanding Fantastic Stories, Stories from the Chamber of Dissemination), edited by Zhang Yongqin 张永钦 and Hou Zhiming 侯志明 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983)