The Wuxia Tale of Yuan Ziyan

Yuan Ziyan, a wuxia novel by Wolong Sheng

Yuan Ziyan is a character in Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Emperor Yang of Sui gathered beauties from across the land in his harem. Since there were so many, he ordered people to divide them into three ranks, high, middle, and low, so he could choose among them. One of them, Lady Hou, was proud of her talent and beauty and refused to bribe the people selecting the women. As a result, she was sent to the Cold Palace. After Lady Hou took her own life in despair, Emperor Yang deeply regretted it. He killed the person in charge of the selection, then, at the suggestion of Empress Xiao, issued an edict: any woman in the harem with a special skill could present herself. So many women came before the emperor, performing songs and dances, displaying their calligraphy and paintings, and showing off all kinds of talents until Emperor Yang was dazzled. Among them was one beauty who neither composed poems nor wrote, neither sang nor danced, but simply stood to one side. The beauty was "graceful in appearance and unusual in character, clear and refined in spirit, with extraordinary bones. She scorned the cosmetics of the mortal world, possessing a graceful bearing all her own."

When Emperor Yang asked about her, he learned that the beauty was named Yuan Ziyan and came from Guixi, Jiangxi. "Since childhood, I have loved studying the mysteries of the heavens, so I abandoned all women's crafts. I have no other talents. I can only observe the stars and read the currents of qi, understand the changes of the Five Phases, and discern the fortunes of the state." Emperor Yang was astonished. "This is the learning of sages! How can a young woman with a beautiful face have mastered it?" Yuan Ziyan replied, "When I was a child, I met an old nun who said my eyes shone with a strange light and could observe the heavens. She then taught me the studies of the armillary sphere and the movements of the five planets and seven celestial bodies. She also warned me: 'Master these, and one day you will become a teacher to a ruler.' Because I have gazed up at the heavens morning and night, I have learned a little of their secrets."