Jiutian Xuannü

This goddess was initially known as Xuannü (). The name is variously translated as the "Dark Lady" In the late Tang dynasty, the Daoist master Du Guangting (850–933) added Jiutian (九天), translated as "[of the] Nine Heavens", to create the title Jiutian Xuannü (九天玄女) for her. She and Sunü are divine sisters. Both their names combined, as xuansu zhidao (), signify the Daoist arts of the bedchamber. ==Stories==

(type of creature depicted), holding phosphors and clouds as reins The Yongcheng Jixian Lu (), written by the Daoist master Du Guangting (850–933), contains a biographical account of Jiutian Xuannü. According to the text, Jiutian Xuannü appeared before Huangdi during his conflict with Chiyou. ==Associations==

Warfare The association of this goddess with warfare is derived from the Longyu Hetu (), presumably produced during the Xin dynasty. This text describes the manifestation of the goddess herself in front of Huangdi () during his conflict against Chiyou (): Her intervention in warfare is a common narrative in Daoist texts, such as in texts from the Zhongshu Bu () in the Daozang (). These texts locate Jiutian Xuannü along the central median of the body and associate her with the circulation of breath, which nourishes the vital spirit and provides longevity. The Taishang Laojun Zhongjing (), probably dating to the 5th century, mentions that she is "located between the kidneys, dressed only in the white of Venus and the brilliant stars. Her pearl of Great Brilliance shines to illuminate the inside of the adept's whole body, so that he can extend his years and not die." In Ge Hong's Baopuzi, it is noted that the goddess Jiutian Xuannü helps prepare elixirs with other deities, that adepts erected altars to the goddess when they create elixirs of metal, and that she had discussed calisthenics and diet with Huangdi. From the Han dynasty onwards, these handbooks would be familiar to the upper class. On the other side, during the Han dynasty, Wang Chong had criticized the sexual arts as "not only harming the body but infringing upon the nature of man and woman." During the Tang dynasty and earlier periods, Jiutian Xuannü was often associated with the sexual arts. The Xuannü Jing remained a familiar work among the literati during the Sui and Tang dynasties. The Dongxuanzi Fangzhong Shu (), which was likely written by the 7th-century poet Liu Zongyuan, contains explicit descriptions of the sexual arts that was supposedly transmitted from Jiutian Xuannü. The sexual practices that Jiutian Xuannü supposedly taught were often compared to alchemy and physiological procedures for prolonging life. In Ge Hong's Baopuzi, there's a passage in which Jiutian Xuannü tells Huangdi that sexual techniques are "like the intermingling of water and fire—it can kill or bring new life depending upon whether or not one uses the correct methods." ==Development==

on the Penghu Islands The goddess Jiutian Xuannü was actively worshiped by the ancient Chinese, but the extent of the worship diminished after the Han dynasty. In 1493, Empress Zhang (1470–1541), who was the wife of the Hongzhi Emperor, was ordained and her ordination was certified in a scroll entitled The Ordination of Empress Zhang, which contains numerous images of deities (but not Jiutian Xuannü) and an inscription composed by the Daoist master Zhang Xuanqing (, d. 1509) of the Zhengyi school. This inscription ranks Jiutian Xuannü above all other celestial warriors by placing her ahead of the divine categories Generals, Marshals, Heavenly Soldiers, the Six Ding Jade Maidens, and the Six Jia Generals. Furthermore, it granted her the expanded official title Jiutian Zhanxie Huzheng Xuannü (, translated "Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens who Slays Evil and Protects Righteousness"). The Lingbao Liuding Mifa associates the phrase "slaying evil and protecting righteousness" () with the goddess and emphasizes that "in order to slay evil and return to righteousness, one first needs to know how to become invisible" (). The veneration and elevation of Jiutian Xuannü may have had an underlying political rationale, as it positioned an aristocratic family over another. The relationship of Empress Zhang and Jiutian Xuannü closely paralleled the relationship of the Ming emperors and Xuanwu, another important deity in Daoism, which promoted the empress and her family's position in the imperial court. This was during a time of strife between the Zhang family and Zhou family (of Empress Dowager Zhou, the grandmother of the Hongzhi Emperor), the latter who adhered to Buddhism. Jiutian Xiannü is a fertility goddess, which also may have contributed to Empress Zhang's worship of the deity. ==Appearance==

In the Taishang Laojun Zhongjing, Jiutian Xuannü is described as being dressed only in the white of Venus and the brilliant stars, with her pearl of Great Brilliance shining in illumination. When Jiutian Xuannü appeared before Huangdi as narrated in the Yongcheng Jixian Lu, she wore variegated kingfisher-feather garments of nine colors and rode a cinnabar phoenix with phosphors and clouds as reins. The physical appearance of Jiutian Xuannü has been described in a poem that appears in the Rongyu Tang () edition of the novel Water Margin (published in the Ming dynasty): ==Popular culture==

Jiutian Xuannü appears as a character in the 2007 Hong Kong film ''It's a Wonderful Life, the 1980s Chinese television series Outlaws of the Marsh, and the 1985 Hong Kong television series The Yang's Saga''. She is featured in the mobile game Tower of Saviors. She makes an appearance in the video games The Legend of Sword and Fairy 4 and The Legend of Sword and Fairy 7. ==Notes==