Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternative names: Fairy Wildcat, Fairy Civet
Category: Cat
The Myth
The Xian Li is a wildcat spirit that, after cultivating its powers for a long time, gains supernatural abilities and transforms into a beautiful man or woman. Rather than referring to domestic cats, the ancient Chinese term li described small wild feline-like animals such as leopard cats, lynxes, or certain civets.
According to Chinese tradition, these wildcats could attain spiritual power through long cultivation. Once transformed into human form, they would seduce people in order to absorb their life essence. Like other shape-shifting spirits, they were believed to be eloquent, persuasive, and capable of both charming and harming humans.
The Xian Li belongs to a broader tradition of Chinese animal spirits that achieve supernatural powers through age and cultivation. Like the fox spirit, it could assume human form and interact freely with people, using its beauty and deception to accomplish its goals.
Sources
“仙狸 (Xiānlí).” Chinese Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/仙狸