Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
The Nine-Tailed Fox
九尾狐
The Nine-Tailed Fox (九尾狐, Jiǔ wěi hú) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from old Chinese legend: Yu the Great is thirty, tired of the flood and afraid he will never have a home. Then a talking white fox with nine tails leads him up Tushan to Nüjiao.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — An old storyteller who tells the tale of the white fox calmly, like a grandfather by the fire.
- Yu · 大禹 — A quiet, stubborn man of thirty who has given everything to fighting the flood and is afraid there will be no one waiting for him at home.
- Boyi · 伯益 — Yu's cheerful, talkative helper, who is very, very tired of eating fish.
- Nüjiao · 女娇 — A kind, clever girl of Tushan who laughs easily and is very good at waiting.
- Xiaobai · 小白 — A teasing white fox with nine tails who hears everything, gives good luck away and keeps one gift for later.
- The Chief of Tushan · 族长 — Nüjiao's father, the old and careful chief of the Tushan people, who wants a husband for her who will come home.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The White Fox
白狐狸
A tired hero, a teasing friend and a fish basket that will not sit still. What is inside has nine tails, sharp ears and a great deal to say.
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Chapter 2: The Girl of Tushan
涂山的女孩
Yu climbs Tushan to find whoever is waiting for him. What he finds is a fast stream, a girl with a heavy basket, and a fox who seems to have planned the whole thing.
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Chapter 3: The Wedding at Tushan
涂山的婚礼
Yu tells the truth to a worried father, and a village throws a wedding feast under the stars. Then Boyi comes running with news that cuts the happiness short.
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Chapter 4: Four Days
四天
Yu has four days with Nüjiao, and he tries very hard not to look at the river. Then dawn comes, and the fox has one gift left to give.
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Key words in The Nine-Tailed Fox
Behind the story
The nine-tailed fox (九尾狐) is very old in Chinese stories. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) lists it among the strange animals of far-off hills, and by the Han dynasty a white fox with nine tails had become a sign of good luck. The Wu Yue Chunqiu (吴越春秋) tells how one appeared to Yu the Great near Tushan (涂山) when he was thirty and still unmarried.
Yu met Nüjiao (女娇) of Tushan and married her, but the flood was waiting. The Book of Documents (尚书) has Yu himself say he stayed only four days. Another old book, the Lüshi Chunqiu (吕氏春秋), says Nüjiao waited for him on Tushan and made a tiny song of four words about waiting for her love (候人兮猗). Later stories often turn fox spirits into tricksters, but this retelling follows the older, luckier fox.
Did you know?
- In the Book of Documents, Yu counts his time at home with the old ten-day calendar signs 辛壬癸甲, so his whole honeymoon is four marks on the calendar.
- In Han dynasty tomb carvings, a nine-tailed fox often sits beside the Queen Mother of the West (西王母) as a lucky sign.
- Several places, including Bengbu in Anhui province, have a Tu Mountain and say it is the Tushan of the legend.