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潘金莲

潘金蓮
Pān Jīnlián
proper noun

Meanings

  1. 1 Pan Jinlian ('Golden Lotus'), adulterous wife of Wu Dalang in 《水浒传》 and protagonist of 《金瓶梅》
  2. 2 byword for a seductress who poisons her husband

Examples

HSK 7-9
潘金莲毒害了武大郎。
Pān Jīnlián dúhài le Wǔ Dàláng.
Pan Jinlian poisoned Wu Dalang.
HSK 7-9
潘金莲是明代小说中的著名形象。
Pān Jīnlián shì Míngdài xiǎoshuō zhōng de zhùmíng xíngxiàng.
Pan Jinlian is a famous figure in Ming-dynasty fiction.

Tips

culture
Appears first as a bit-part in 《水浒传》: unhappy wife of the dwarf peddler Wu Dalang, seduced by the merchant Ximen Qing (西门庆), she poisons Wu with arsenic - and is killed in revenge by Wu Dalang's brother Wu Song (武松). Ming author Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng spun her off into the standalone novel 《金瓶梅》 ('Plum in the Golden Vase'), giving Chinese literature its first domestic realist epic.
usage
Calling a married woman a 潘金莲 is a heavy insult - it accuses her of adultery and malice. The phrase is strong enough to appear in defamation cases.

Stroke Order

潘 Pān
金 jīn
莲 lián