Tag Archives: foxs and ghosts

The homophone hú: fox 狐 hú, hur and non-Han people 胡 hú, hur

The homophone hú:  fox   hú, hur  and non-Han people hú, hur

I’ve been reading about traditional folk beliefs in pre-modern China and recently acquired Leo Tak-hung Chang’s wonderful and informative book The Discourse on Foxes and Ghosts, Ji Yun and Eighteenth-Century Literati Storytelling.  In it he gives an interesting example of how homophones offered people an opportunity to express their aggravation with the government, while appearing to speak of something else. Continue reading The homophone hú: fox 狐 hú, hur and non-Han people 胡 hú, hur