Hongniang

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Hongniang

Actress Chen Xinyu (陈欣雨) portraying Hongniang in a 2016 Yue opera performance in Tianchan Theatre, Shanghai.

Traditional Chinese

紅娘

Simplified Chinese

红娘

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Hóngniáng
Wade–Giles	Hung² Niang²

Hongniang, or Scarlet, is a fictional character from "Yingying's Biography", a Chinese story by Yuan Zhen (779–831), and Romance of the Western Chamber, a Chinese play by Wang Shifu (1250–1337?). She is the maidservant of Cui Yingying.^[1]^: 156 The character of Hongniang became increasingly important from Yuan Zhen's story to Wang Shifu's play and later versions, eventually becoming the protagonist in the one-act play "Hongniang."^[2]^: 79

In Wang Shifu's play, Hongniang plays a key role as a witty, cunning, and righteous character who facilitates the love affair between Cui Yingying and Scholar Zhang (Zhang Gong).^[2]^: 48 Hongniang has entered modern Chinese vocabulary as a synonym for a (female) matchmaker.^[2]^: 48

References

^ Owen, Stephen (1996). The End of the Chinese 'Middle Ages': Essays in Mid-Tang Literary Culture. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2667-2.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wen-Chin, Hsu (2011). "ILLUSTRATIONS OF "ROMANCE OF THE WESTERN CHAMBER" ON CHINESE PORCELAINS: Iconography, Style, and Development". Ars Orientalis. 40: 39–107. ISSN 0571-1371. JSTOR 23075932.