She Saihua
| She Saihua | |
|---|---|
| Generals of the Yang Family character | |
from one 1882 print of the early 17th century novel Popular Romance of Generations of Loyal and Brave Yang Family Members (楊家府世代忠勇通俗演義)
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| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | She Taijun (佘太君; "Dowager She") |
| Gender | Female |
| Spouse(s) | Yang Ye (Yang Jiye) |
| Children |
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| Weapon(s) | Dragon-head crutch |
| She Saihua | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shé Sàihuā |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Se4 Choi3-fa1 |
| Jyutping | Se4 Coi3-faa1 |
She Saihua (佘賽花) is a legendary heroine from ancient China's Northern Song Dynasty. The wife of Yang Ye and the mother of their 7 sons, she is a prominent figure in the stories on Generals of the Yang Family.
The elderly and widowed She Saihua is also commonly known as She Taijun (佘太君; "Dowager She") and is usually depicted with a dragon-head cane (龍頭拐杖). She allegedly lived past the age of 100.
She Saihua's father She Hong (佘洪) had already arranged for his daughter to marry Yang Ye, but changed his mind and betrothed her to Cui Long (崔龍) from the more powerful Cui family instead. When the Yang family requested marriage, She Hong sent for Cui Long to come quickly to marry his daughter. She Saihua did not like the ugly and untalented Cui Long and sent a messenger for Yang Ye. After Yang Ye's arrival and at the request of She Saihua, She Hong had no choice but to declare that the winner of the duel between the suitors would marry his daughter. Yang Ye killed Cui Long in the battle but accidentally injured She Hong who tried to help Cui Long. Angry, She Saihua fought Yang Ye who retreated to the Seven-Star Temple. Inside the temple, Yang Ye clarified the misunderstanding and they married.
The Seven-Star Temple where they allegedly married is located in today's Fugu County, Shaanxi province.
She Saihua had 7 sons and 2 daughters with Yang Ye, the Song commander-in-chief. With Pan Mei refusing to send aid, Yang Ye and several sons died during the battles of Golden Beach and Mount Twin Wolves. Lady She made sure Pan Mei's crimes did not go unnoticed and successfully persecuted him in the imperial court. Trusting her loyalty and judgment, Emperor Taizong made her the commander-in-chief and awarded her a Dragon Head Cane, a symbol of the emperor, for absolute control of the male-dominated army.
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Wikipedia