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

Overview

The Talking Silver Foxes locates its accounts at Tower Mountain near Kaiutschou, behind a shrine to the Old Mother. The opening describes foxlike creatures in yellow, fiery red or white, some of which learn human speech. Foxes seated beside a path invite travellers to smoke, then laugh when their frightened hearers flee. These are the collection’s legendary animals; its note uses the romanized name Pi and explains that the same term is used for panthers, connecting this tale with The Panther without identifying a single individual across the two stories.

A farmer named Wang encounters what appears to be a man in a straw hat and grass mantle, carrying a pick and offering help with ploughing. Recognizing a talking fox, he strikes it with his whip. The fleeing creature leaves behind props made from potato leaves, oak leaves, grass, a plant stalk and a piece of brick. Later, a spirit possessing a nearby woman boasts that it fears neither the Taoist religious authority nor the God of War, but does fear Wang’s whip. When summoned, Wang cracks the whip; the fox hisses, spits and flies out of the window.

The final account describes an archer shooting the hind foot from a foxlike creature with fiery-red fur and a grey-striped back. It offers riches for release and predicts that its skin alone will fetch only five thousand copper pieces. The archer kills it and sells the pelt for exactly that sum; the account closes by saying that the fox-spirit no longer appeared. These reported episodes retain their own sequence and descriptions rather than establishing a universal lifespan, anatomy or cure for illness. Shrine practices described by the historical narrator provide setting, not present-day clinical advice.

Human speech and roadside tricksLeaf-made costume propsPossession and fear of Wang’s whip
01

Origins & earliest records

Chinese tales mediated by Richard Wilhelm and Frederick H. Martens

02

Records & interpretation

Complete tale and its attached source note read in the retained1921-edition transcription.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    The Chinese Fairy Book

    Richard Wilhelm, editor; Frederick H. Martens, translator · 1921

    The Talking Silver Foxes, pp.165–168; New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company

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

Complete historical translated tale

Richard Wilhelm/Frederick H. Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book (Stokes1921)

Ghost Stories. The Talking Silver Foxes, pp.165–168

Complete tale including ending/source note read in wilhelm-XLIX.txt and29939.html. Religious offices and reported narrative identities distinguished; no uninspected original-language version claimed.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical translated taleWilhelm/Martens, The Chinese Fairy Book, The Talking Silver Foxes, pp.165–168Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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