Nie Xiaoqian
| Nie Xiaoqian | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 聶小倩 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 聂小倩 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Niè Xiǎoqiàn |
Nie Xiaoqian is the female lead character in a fantasy story in the short story collection Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling. Pu Songling describes her appearance as "gorgeous; girl in paintings" (simplified Chinese: 艳绝；画中人; traditional Chinese: 艷絕；畫中人).
Nie Xiaoqian is introduced as a beautiful female ghost. She died at the age of 18 and was interred in an old temple, Jinhua, Zhejiang. Nie is coerced to participate in ritual murders in the service of a demon. A pale-faced scholar, Ning Caichen, is going to Beijing to take a civil service examination. Though Nie attempts to prey upon Ning Caichen, he resists her and takes her from her haunt. As Ning's sickly wife slowly dies, Nie fulfills expectations of filial piety as she takes upon the household chores. Once Ning's wife dies, he is free to pursue Nie. Nie's good works earn her humanity back. She and Ning marry and conceive a child, representative of Nie's restoration.
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