The Cult of the Fox

Xiaofei Kang's beautiful book epitomizes two of the most remarkable current trends in the field of Chinese religion: the interweaving of history, literature, and ethnology; and the uncovering of the widely underestimated richness of modern northern China's religious world. It is an enchanting new look at ethics, exorcism, and spirit-mediumship. -- Vincent Goossaert, research fellow, CNRS, Paris This book concerns a fascinating phenomenon in Chinese religion, society, and culture. Kang smoothly blends both literary-historical and ethnographic evidence into an integrated, balanced, and creative interpretation. The Cult of the Fox is particularly sophisticated in its sensitivity to the multiple meanings associated with foxes and the various types of social actors involved in constructing those meanings. It is a highly original, engagingly written, painstakingly researched work of scholarship that will immediately become the key book on its subject and essential reading for anyone interested in East Asian religion, culture, gender imagery, literature, and history. -- Robert Ford Campany , Indiana University, author of To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents Kang's book blends data from previously unexplored sources to show that the fox was a multivocal symbol that different people manipulated in order to justify their position in Chinese society, and at times even resist the imposition of standard cultural norms. Kang's stimulating treatment of the history of fox spirits rethinks conventional wisdom about the underlying unity of Chinese culture, as well as the ability of officials and elites to impose cultural integration from the top down. Full of vivid descriptions and thought-provoking analysis, this book should prove inspirational for all readers with an interest in the religious and cultural history of China. -- Paul Katz, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica

For more than five centuries the shamanistic fox cult has attracted large portions of Chinese population and appealed to a range of social classes. This book explores the manifold meanings of the fox spirit in Chinese society. It describes various cult practices, activities of worship, and the exorcising of fox spirits.