Traditional culture holds that all things possess a spirit, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas records wondrous abilities belonging to rare and exotic beasts of ancient times. The Han-era Laozi's Jade Register stipulated that animals had to cultivate for 300 years before taking human form, while Baopuzi described the lifespans and powers of animals that became spirits. There's also the notion of animals seeking a blessing to transform: if the attempt fails, they must cultivate all over again.
• Unusual cases of animals becoming spirits: During the Eastern Jin dynasty, Guo Pu made an exception for foxes, shortening the time they needed to take human form. In his Qing-dynasty Record of Yuewei Hermitage, Ji Yun noted that there was no set rule for how things became spirits: objects could become spirits too, though foxes did so easily while objects rarely did.
• The saying that animals can no longer become spirits after the founding of the People's Republic: According to legend, after the Purple Star Emperor and the Human Emperor sealed a hundred-year blood pact, the gods, demons, monsters, and animals of every kind were barred from descending into the human world or becoming spirits. Spiritual energy was locked within the mountains, rivers, and dragon veins. When spiritual qi revives in 2049, the age of cultivation may begin anew. The account also cites supposed paranormal events, such as the thunderstorm night in Lujiazui in 2012 and the Humen Bridge swaying without wind in 2020, and jokes that a calamity involving cultivation may occur in the future.
