Daji

Daji (Chinese: 妲己; pinyin: Dájǐ; Wade–Giles: Ta2-chi3) was the alleged favorite consort of Di Xin, the last king of the Shang dynasty in ancient China. However, she is not recorded in contemporary oracle bone inscriptions. In historical legends and some fictions, she is portrayed as a malevolent fox spirit who kills and impersonates the real Daji. Her identification as a fox spirit seems to have originated from at least the Tang dynasty. These accounts have been popularized in works such as the Wu Wang Fa Zhou Pinghua (武王伐紂平話), the Fengshen Yanyi, and the Lieguo Zhi. She is considered a classic example of how a beautiful femme fatale can cause the downfall of a dynasty in Chinese culture. In the Song dynasty, fox spirit cults, including those dedicated to Daji, were outlawed, but their suppression was unsuccessful. For example, in 1111, an imperial edict was issued for the destruction of many spirit shrines within Kaifeng, including those of Daji.