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Malaysia / China: Carving of the spirit Jiutou Zhiji Jing, depicting her role in the 16th Century Ming Dynasty novel Fengshen Yanyi ('Investiture of the Gods'). From Ping Sien Si Temple, Pasir Panjang Laut

Malaysia / China: Carving of the spirit Jiutou Zhiji Jing, depicting her role in the 16th Century Ming Dynasty novel <i>Fengshen Yanyi</i> ('Investiture of the Gods'). From Ping Sien Si Temple, Pasir Panjang Laut

Jiutou Zhiji Jing is a fictional character from the classic Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. A yaojing (spirit/demon), she was changed from a pheasant with nine heads to a seductive young woman by the goddess Nuwa, and tasked to create chaos for King Zhou of Shang after he had insulted Nuwa.

Alongside spectres Pipa Jing and Su Daji, Jiutou Zhiji Jing was sent to bewitch and cause havoc for the people of Shang. During a banquet, she and her fellow fox spirits' true forms were revealed and their homes were set alight, killing all of them except for Zhiji Jing, who fled to the mountains and managed to survive. She was eventually found by Su Daji and returned to Zhaoge, the capital city of Shang, in an even more beautiful form. There, she and Su Daji bewitched and became King Zhou's personal consorts.

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