【正文】 Hou Jiaying. China Today, Oct2020, Vol. 56 Issue 10, p6266 Foxes have been popular characters in Chinese fables for two millennia. They first featured in their original animal form before gradually taking on the persona of spirits, both benevolent and malevolent, in the guise of bewitchingly beautiful, charming young women. Famous Ming Dynasty (13681644) writer Pu Songling’s stories about fox spirits in his wellknown Strange Tales from Makedo Studio characterize them as beautiful creatures that embody the nest human virtues of fidelity, love, generosity, justice, and willingness to help others. Over the past three centuries, readers of Pu Songling’s work have e to refer to these characters as “fox angels” rather than “fox spirits.” Ma Ruifang, Chinese scholar and expert on the Strange Tales from Makedo Studio, once acted as host to a visiting American professor from Chicago University. When the two spoke of Pu Songling’s works the professor expressed his amazement at how this 17thcentury Chinese writer from feudal, isolated, imperial China could have dreamt up the story Hengniang, one of the 500 Strange Tales’ most famous foxy stories. Its implicit advice to wives that they should employ feminine wiles to ensure their spouses’ passion strongly resembled the counsel dispensed on the lonely hearts pages of American newspapers and magazines of the 1980s. Women of the Dream World Hengniang’s plot is the classic husband, wife and mistress love triangle. Hengniang is a benign fox spirit and wife of a mortal. Her neighbor, Hong Daye, has a wife, Zhu, and a concubine. Zhu is more beautiful, and only a few years older than the concubine but, to Zhu’s consternation, Hong Daye favors his concubine over her. Hengniang’s husband also has a concubine, one appreciably younger and more beautiful than Hengniang, but he nevertheless loves his wife the more by far. When Zhu asks Hengniang why this should be Hengniang tells her that it is human nature to abandon the old for the new and to yearn for the elusive. At Hengniang’s suggestion, Zhu adopts a magnanimous attitude towards her husband and his concubine for a whole month, making it easy for them freely to spend day and night together. Hengniang also advises Zhu to improve her looks. During the monthlong experiment, Zhu busies herself around the house wearing old clothes and no makeup. But on the last day of the month, she dons new clothes, shoes and styles her hair. As Hengniang predicts, the light of love returns to Hong Daye’s eyes when he beholds her, and before nightfall he es knocking at Zhu’s bedroom door. Zhu, still following Hengniang’s advice, gently but firmly declines to let him in, feigning tiredness. The next day, she follows the same strategy. On the third day, Daye slips into Zhu’s room before sunset and waits till dark. That night the couple spend their happiest night together since they were newlywed. When Daye asks Zhu if he may stay with her the next night, Zhu demurs, telling him he must wait for three days. Zhu joyfully recounts to Hengniang her successful reclamation of Daye’s passion. Hengniang 6 cautions Zhu to continue using her feminine wiles, because although Zhu may be beautiful she lacks charm, so her husband’s reawakened passion may be shortlived. Hengniang explains that ch