Fox Enchantment

Ashiu is the title of a story in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. There are two characters named Ashiu in the story: a girl from the human world and a fox spirit. The human girl Ashiu is extraordinarily beautiful, and the fox spirit Ashiu wants to cultivate herself until she is just as beautiful. This leads to a story that lingers in the mind.

Liu Zigu met Ashiu, a young woman who worked in a general store, and could never forget her because she was “unparalleled in beauty.” But when he asked her family for her hand in marriage, he learned that Ashiu was already engaged to a man from Guangning. Dejected, Liu Zigu “paced about, thinking of her,” hoping to meet someone who resembled Ashiu.

At that moment, the fox woman transformed herself into Ashiu’s likeness and went to see Liu Zi...