Nie Yinniang

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Nei.

Nie Yinniang (Chinese: 聶隱娘) is a short story written during the Tang Dynasty in classical Chinese. It is set in 9th century China. The story was published in the collection Feixingchuanqi (Chinese: 裴鉶传奇).[1] Nie Yinniang, a female assassin, is appointed to slay corrupt government officials by her master, Jiaxin, a nun who raised her from the age of ten. When Yinniang has shown mercy by failing to kill the official, Jiaxin punishes her with a ruthless assignment that is designed to test Yinniang’s resolve. She is sent to a distant province in northern China to kill its military governor, Tian Ji'an.[2]

Plot

"Nie Yinniang" is a legendary Chinese short story (chuanqi) written during the Tang dynasty,[3] which tells the story of Nie Yinniang, the daughter of Nie Feng, who is a general under the command of the Tang Dynasty's famous Tian Ji'an.

At the age of 12 , Nie Yinniang is placed under a spell and taught fencing and stealthy kungfu, enabling her to assassinate targets undetected. After five years of training, Nie is sent home to her father, but because of Yinniang's exceptional kungfu skill, her father is petrified. He does not ask Nie why she disappears in the evening without explanation.

With insight, Nie Yinniang goes on to choose a man who made a living by polishing the mirror as her husband. After the death of her father, the general Tian Ji'an sees Nie's advanced skills and hires her as an assistant.

During the reign of TangXianZong, Tian Ji'an developed an adversarial relationship with Liu Changyi, another famous general at that time. This adversary seeks out the advice of a spiritual leader with renowned prophetic skill. Nie turns on Ji'an and works for Liu. Furious, he sends Jingjinger to slay both Nie Yinniang and Liu Changyi - but he fails and Nie kills him instead. Tian Ji'an escalates the battle, sending Kongkonger to assassinate Liu, but Nie uses magical power to defeat it. Finally, Liu Changyi is safe and treats Nie better than ever.

A few years later, after Liu moves to the capital to work for the emperor, Nie bids him farewell, but remember him at his graveside upon his death where she attends his coffin to show respect and to mourn.

Influence

This short story is the first to be based on real-life events and the first to have a female protagonist. Nie yinniang and Red String are the only two pieces of Tang Dynasty chuanqi with a female lead, the foundation of women's fiction in China.

Movie

Shu Qi acted as Nie Yinniang in The Assassin

The Assassin (Chinese: 刺客聶隱娘) is a 2015 martial arts film directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien.[4] At Cannes, Hou won the award for Best Director for this film.[5] It was released in China on 27 August 2015. It was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "太平廣記 - 聂隐娘 - 中國哲學書電子化計劃".Accessed 16.12.2015
  2. ↑ "『聂隐娘』：一段传奇". 豆瓣.Accessed 30.12.2015
  3. ↑ "唐传奇·聂隐娘". 豆瓣.Accessed 1.1.2016
  4. 1 2 "北京青年报电子版".Accessed 16.12.2015
  5. ↑ "Awards 2015 : Competition - Festival de Cannes 2016 (International Film Festival)". Festival-cannes.fr. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
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