Sunü () is an ancient Chinese goddess associated with music and sexuality. She is viewed as the divine sister of the Chinese war and sex goddess Jiutian Xuannü. She is traditionally portrayed as a highly skilled singer who plays a

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

, and Sunü's songs were known for their ability to pacify wild animals, inspire plants to grow, as well as change the seasons. "When she plays... it can make the wind warm in winter, snow in summer..." In the ''History of Chinese Literature'' (中国文学史), Sunü is imagined as the first female harp player. As goddess of sexuality, Sunü was said to share sexual expertise with the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Sovereig ...

and is said to have authored ''

Su Nü Jing ''Su Nü Jing'' or ''Su Nü Ching'' - ''Classic of the White Madam'' (素女經), is the basic book of Taoist sexology, China's Chinese classics on Taoist sexual practices.In Han Dynasty Zhang Heng's poem'' Song of the Same Voice'', when descri ...

'', the basic book of Taoist sexology.

Etymology

In earlier periods, the goddess was known as simply ''Sunü''. The name has been variously translated as the "Immaculate Lady," "Immaculate Maiden," the "Pure Girl," or the "White Madam" in English. In the late

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

and early

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

dynasties, the author created the title ''Jiutian Sunü'' (九天素女), adding "

f the F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

Nine Heavens", to refer to the goddess. She is closely related to Xuannü, who is her divine sister. Both their names combined, as ''xuansu zhidao'' (), signify the Daoist arts of the bedchamber.

Legends

According to the ''

Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shan Hai Jing'', formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed si ...

'', Sunü lived in the region of Guangdu (or Duguang, corresponding to Shuangliu, near

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

, Sichuan) in the region of the Heishui, close to the tomb of

Hou Ji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of northern China, prior to the introduction of wheat. His name transl ...

. As recounted in the earliest Chinese

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

'' Shiben'',

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as wel ...

was the creator of the

( se or qin). The story as told is that there were three goddesses in the era of Huangdi (the

), namely Sunü (, "the Simple Woman"), Xuannü (, "the Mysterious Woman"), and Cainü (, "the Colorful Woman"); the three sisters taught the Huangdi Taoist sexual practices, the theory of sex, and physically practiced the teachings with him. Among the three, Sunü was the best at music. Since Sunü was the best musician, Huangdi sent her to play the zither. When she was not able to master the fifty-string instrument, she divided it into two parts - each with twenty-five strings.

References

{{reflist Chinese goddesses Love and lust goddesses Health goddesses