Pan Jinlian

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Pan Jinlian (traditional Chinese: 潘金蓮; simplified Chinese: 潘金莲) is a character in the Chinese novels the Water Margin and The Plum in the Golden Vase and, as a consequence, the quintessential adulterous wife in Chinese culture. The character's name appeared to be inspired by the Southern Qi Dynasty imperial consort Pan Yunu, whose husband, the emperor Xiao Baojuan had her dance on golden (金, jin) lotuses (蓮, lian).

Pan was married to Wu Dalang, elder brother of eventual Liangshan chieftain, Wu Song. The elder Wu was short and ugly, whereas Pan was renowned for her beauty; as a result, people always felt the couple was a mismatch.

As it were, Pan had an extramarital affair with Ximen Qing, a handsome womanizer in town. Wu Dalang was eventually informed of this affair by his friend, but Pan and Ximen plotted to poison Wu. They even attempted to bribe the coroner to conceal the true cause of his death.

However, Wu Song carried out his own investigations and before long, came to know of the truth. The younger Wu's slaying of the adulterous pair was both graphic and one of the most memorable scenes in the novel.

In modern retelling, Pan Jinlian is no longer portrayed as a one dimensional adultering evil wife, instead she is depicted as a loyal wife of Wu Dalang who loved her husband as a hardworking man. The retelling tried to depict that Pan was forced into adultery with Ximen Qing after she fell into a plot made by her neighbour Wong Po who taught Ximen Qing how trap and seduce Pan by having nonconsensual sex.