Yan Poxi () is a fictional

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

woman from the Chinese novel ''

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (), also called ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' or ''All Men Are Brothers'', is a Chinese novel from the Ming dynasty that is one of the preeminent Classic Chinese Novels. Attributed to Shi Nai'an, ''Water Margin'' was one of the e ...

''. She is usually called Yan Xijiao (), a Hua Dan, in

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

. Originally from the national capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

, Yan Poxi is a beautiful young girl who came to

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

with her parents to find a relative, but unable to find him they are stuck in

Yuncheng County Yuncheng () is a County (People's Republic of China), county in the southwest of Shandong province, China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Heze. It borders the Yellow River and Henan (Taiqian County and ...

and depend on Yan Poxi's singing to get by. Her father dies, but she and her mother are too poor to give him a proper burial. After learning about their situation, the Yuncheng County clerk

Song Jiang Song Jiang was a Chinese historical figure who led an armed rebellion against the ruling Song dynasty, Song Dynasty in the early 12th century. His band marauded over a region straddling the present-day Chinese provinces of Shandong and Henan. Th ...

pays for his funeral. Her mother then pressures her to marry Song Jiang as a way to express her gratitude. Because Song Jiang does not spend much time with her, Yan Poxi quickly starts an affair with Song's assistant Zhang Wenyuan after her marriage. One night, she discovers

Chao Gai Chao Gai, nicknamed "Pagoda-Shifting Heavenly King", is a fictional character in ''Water Margin'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He is not one of the 108 Stars of Destiny because he dies before the Grand Assembly ...

's letter to Song Jiang, and threatens to report Song Jiang to the magistrate for associating with the outlaws unless he agrees to three conditions: 1) allow her to marry Zhang Wenyuan; 2) let her keep all the clothes, ornaments, property, etc., he has given her; and 3) give her the gold bars from Chao Gai. Song Jiang agrees but cannot fulfil the third condition because he only accepted one of the one hundred gold bars mentioned in Chao Gai's letter. Yan Poxi refuses to believe him and continues to threaten to report him. Song Jiang eventually loses patience and stabs her to death in a fit of anger. He then burns the letter and escapes from Yuncheng County.

References

* * * * * * * {{Water Margin characters Fictional characters from Henan