Tradition: Chinese Mythology
Alternative Names: Jade Face, Yumian Fox, Yumian Princess, Hu Xiaojie
Category: Fox
The Myth
Yumian is a powerful fox demon known for her beautiful, jade-like face and extraordinary powers of transformation. In the tale The Complete Story of the Fox’s Karmic Affinity, Yumian is described as a nine-tailed fox who has cultivated her supernatural abilities for nine thousand years, gaining an additional tail for every thousand years of practice. Despite her immense age and magical power, she remains fascinated by the pleasures of the human world and frequently disguises herself as a beautiful woman to interact with mortals.
Taking the identity of Miss Hu, Yumian visits the study of a young scholar named Zhou at night. She becomes involved with him and secretly absorbs his yang essence to strengthen her own cultivation. As their encounters continue, Zhou neglects his studies and eventually falls ill, weakened by the fox demon’s supernatural influence. His declining health draws attention to the danger concealed behind Yumian’s alluring human appearance.
Eventually, the immortal Lü Dongbin descends into the mortal world to subdue the fox demon. The two engage in a supernatural battle, but neither can gain the upper hand, and their confrontation ends in a draw. Yumian also appears in other Chinese literary tales. In The Complete Biography of Ji Gong, the Jade-Faced Fox visits the monk Ji Gong to seek his teachings. In Journey to the West, the Jade-Faced Princess is a fox spirit and the daughter of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fox King. She lives in Cloud-Gathering Cave on Mount Jilei and becomes the concubine of the Bull Demon King.
Sources
“玉面 (Yùmiàn).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%89%E9%9D%A2