The Encounter with Fox Spirits

The Encounter with Fox Spirits Order Description Topic: Fox stories such as the Tang story “Miss Jen” provide an important clue to the history of Chinese views of sexuality and the sensual side of love. However, in his Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio, Pu Songling presents a memorable portrait gallery of individualized fox characters. Apparently, sexuality is not the entirety of the fox tradition: under Pu’s writing brush, foxes play important role as popular deities, aspiring immortals, romantic heroines, and intelligent friends. Based on the three fox stories you have read this semester (Miss Jen; Ma Jiefu and Hengnian), examine how the portrayals of Ma Jiefu and Hengniang (by Pu) as “fox-spirits” differ from the Tang fox-fairy Miss Jen? What might account for some of their differences? Length: 5-6 pages (2000 words), double-spaced, 12-point font.