Mr. Hu, the fox tutor

Overview

A wealthy Chih-li household employs the scholarly Mr. Hu as a tutor. His ability to appear inside locked doors makes the family suspect that he is a fox, but they initially value his teaching and treat him courteously. Giles’s cross-referenced note explains that the spoken surname Hu resembles the word for fox while representing a different written character. When Hu seeks the employer’s daughter, a marriage intermediary is rejected and beaten. The intermediary leaves behind an apparently black, hairy mule that proves to be made of straw. The account does not name this messenger or identify him with Hu’s subsequently mentioned brother.

A fox company then attacks on foot and horseback with spears and crossbows. Weapons abandoned after the first clash prove to be millet stalks. A giant descends from the sky, over ten feet tall and carrying an enormous sword, but after the household defeats him he is found to be made of grass. A later arrow removed from the employer’s back is a thorn. The harassment lasts roughly a month and causes wounds and alarm, although the narrator qualifies the injuries as not serious. The plant-made giant and equipment belong to this episode’s hostile displays; the text does not establish them as independent species or explain a universal mechanism of fox magic.

When Hu finally appears with his soldiers, his former employer calls him forward and persuades him to stop the arrows. Their discussion over wine leads to a different proposal: the employer’s son will marry Hu’s daughter. After an interval of eighteen months, Hu returns to arrange the wedding. The bride arrives with a substantial household trousseau, treats her parents-in-law respectfully and accurately anticipates the quality of harvests. Hu, his younger brother and their mother subsequently visit her and are frequently seen by other people. The complete ending therefore preserves a continuing relationship between the families rather than an exorcism or destruction of the foxes. It is a particular literary reconciliation, not a claim that all fox marriages or spirits behave alike.

Origins & earliest records

Pu Songling’s literary collection, in Giles’s selected English translation.

Records & interpretation

Complete English story, attached notes and translator introduction read. No independent Chinese-text collation.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio

   Pu Songling; translated and annotated by Herbert A. Giles · 1880

   XXXV, The Fight with the Foxes, volume I; electronic notes215–218 and referenced90; complete narrative, four attached notes and crossnote90 read.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Historical literary translationStrange Stories from a Chinese Studio — XXXV, The Fight with the Foxes, volume I; electronic notes215–218 and referenced90Research access: 2026-10-06

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.