By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik - Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist
In ancient China, the belief was that as the common red fox grew older, it would get supernatural powers. Its colour would change and its tails would multiply. Therefore, with the passage of time, an older fox would turn white and grow up to nine tails. A white fox with nine tails would eventually become divine. But, in its journey from an ordinary, red, field fox to the divine, white, nine-tailed fox, it became a mysterious, shape-shifting creature, male or female, benevolent or malevolent. Such creatures came to be associated with many folklores full of mischief, seduction, trickery and even violence. The stories spread as far as Japan and Korea.
