九天玄女 (Jiǔtiānxuánnǚ) · Xuannü, the Mysterious Lady of the…

Meanings

1 Xuannü, the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens (Chinese mythology)
2 Daoist goddess of war and longevity

About Jiutian Xuannü

Goddess of Chinese myth and Daoism who taught the 黄帝 (Yellow Emperor) the art of war to defeat 蚩尤. In 水浒传 she appears to 宋江 in a dream and gives him books of heavenly strategy.

Also called 玄女

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

传说九天玄女曾授黄帝兵法。

Chuánshuō Jiǔtiān Xuánnǚ céng shòu Huángdì bīngfǎ.

Legend says the Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens taught the Yellow Emperor the art of war.

HSK 7-9

《水浒传》里九天玄女授宋江天书。

《 Shuǐhǔzhuàn 》 lǐ Jiǔtiān Xuánnǚ shòu Sòng Jiāng tiānshū.

In Water Margin, Xuannü bestows the Heavenly Book on Song Jiang.

Tips

history

In her name, 九天 'the Nine Heavens' are the highest reaches of the sky in Chinese cosmology, and 玄 carries the Daoist sense of 'dark, mysterious, profound'. She first appears in texts of the Han dynasty.

In Pop Culture

水浒传 Shuǐhǔzhuàn

Water Margin

In Chapter 42 of the Ming-dynasty novel, Xuannü appears to outlaw-hero Song Jiang in a dream and gives him three scrolls of celestial military strategy - a key turning point in the bandits' rise to power.