Kou Zhu (寇珠, also translated as "Pearl") is a fictional

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

palace maid popular in legends related to

Emperor Renzong of Song Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty empe ...

Emperor Zhenzong of Song Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was changed ...

, Concubine Li and Empress Liu. In the 19th-century novel ''

The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants ''The Tale of Loyal Heroes and Righteous Gallants'' (忠烈俠義傳), also known by its 1883 reprint title ''The Three Heroes and Five Gallants'' (三俠五義), is an 1879 Chinese novel based on storyteller Shi Yukun's oral performances. The n ...

'', she is credited with saving the newborn Emperor Renzong: when her master Concubine Liu ordered her to strangle him and dump his body under a bridge, she gave the infant to the

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

Chen Lin instead. Years later, she was tortured by Liu (then already the empress thanks to her conspiracy) and her eunuch Guo Huai, and committed suicide. Still years later, Bao Zheng and his chief strategist Gongsun Ce "invoked her ghost" to extract a confession out of Guo. She first appeared in writing in the play ''Chen Lin Carrying the Filigree Box at Gold Water Bridge'' (金水橋陳琳抱粧盒) from the 1615 volume ''Collections of Yuan Plays'' (元曲選), in which she was simply called Palace Maid Kou (寇承禦, "Kou Chengyu") without a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

Worship

Dragon-Mother Temple (龍母宮), a temple in Xinshi District, Baoding,

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

, China, is a temple dedicated to the worship of Kou Zhu. It was likely built in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368–1644), but local folk legends claim it was built by Emperor Renzong (1010–1063) to commemorate his savior.

Portrayal in film and television

* Ivy Ling Po in '' Inside the Forbidden City'' (1965) * Chang Hsiao-yen in ''The Secret History of the Song Palace'' (1974) * Hsu Hsiu-nien in ''Exchanging A Wild Cat for the Crown Prince'' (1984) * Hu Huiling in ''

Justice Pao Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extr ...

'' (1993) * Sun Huining in ''The Song Dynasty Stunning Legend'' (2004) * Huang Hui in ''Struggle for Imperial Power'' (2005) * Shen Yunzhou in '' Justice Bao'' (2008)

References

* {{The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants characters