Lady Huang, also known in fiction and folklore as Huang Yueying, was the wife of

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...

, the

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and regent of the state of

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu (; pinyin: ''shŭ'' <

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period of China. Her name was not recorded in history; "Huang Yueying" is simply a fictional name. In tales, Lady Huang was, however, remarkable for her erudition, being learned in strategy, geography, astronomy, and divination. Zhuge Liang heard of her intelligence, and courted and married her.

In historical records

The only mention of Lady Huang in historical sources was in the ''Xiangyang Ji'' (襄陽記; ''Records of Xiangyang''). In the fifth century, the account was added as an annotation by

Pei Songzhi Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region later. He i ...

's biography in the historical text ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

'', which was written by

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...

two centuries earlier. The account stated that

Huang Chengyan Huang Chengyan ( third century) was a reclusive scholar who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was from Miannan (), Jing Province, which is around present-day Honghu, Hubei. He was known for being carefree and open-minded.(� ...

once told Zhuge Liang: "I heard you are looking for a wife. I have an ugly daughter with yellow hair and dark skin, but her talent matches yours." Zhuge Liang then married Huang Chengyan's daughter. At the time, there was a saying in their village: "Don't be like Kongming when you choose a wife. He ended up with A-cheng's (referring to Huang Chengyan) ugly daughter."

In folklore

A story tells that Huang Yueying challenged her suitors to visit her personally by claiming that she was ugly. In the event that a suitor would visit her, she would hide herself under veils as a quiet dare to test their resolve. When Zhuge Liang came to her, her figure was silhouetted by moonlight and her head was covered with two red veils. Unlike other men, Zhuge Liang entered her room alone and did not hesitate in removing her disguises. As he removed the first veil from her face, he calmly stated that her ugliness was a misunderstanding by her father. Zhuge Liang was then rewarded by Huang Yueying's joyful visage and gratification. Folktales ascribe to her the creation of not only Zhuge Liang's wooden ox and flowing horse but fantastic inventions, including cooking robots. Lady Huang did not long survive her husband, who died in 234 A.D. On her deathbed, she instructed her son

Zhuge Zhan Zhuge Zhan (227–263), courtesy name Siyuan, was a military general and official of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a son of Zhuge Liang, the first Imperial Chancellor of Shu. Early life When Zhuge Zhan ...

to "be loyal and filial." A memorial for her exists in her supposed hometown of Huangjiawan () in Yao'an Village () outside

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

In popular culture

Huang Yueying is featured as a playable character in

Koei Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on p ...

's ''

Dynasty Warriors is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...

'' and ''

Warriors Orochi is a hack and slash video game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, ''Dynasty Warriors'' and ''Samurai Warriors'' (specifically ''Dynasty Warriors 5'' an ...

'' video game series. She is referred to as "Yue Ying" in the games up to ''

Dynasty Warriors 7 is a hack and slash video game and the seventh official installment of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series. It is developed by Omega Force and published by Tecmo Koei. The story is based on the 14th-century Chinese historical novel ''Romance of the ...

''. Since ''Dynasty Warriors Next'' (on PS Vita) and ''

Warriors Orochi 3 ''Warriors Orochi 3'', originally released as in Japan, is a 2011 hack and slash video game developed by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This is the fourth installment of the crossover series ''Warriors Orochi'', a ...

'', she is referred to as "Yueying" instead. She also appears in other games produced by Koei, such as ''

Kessen II is a strategy game loosely based on the Three Kingdoms period of China. It is the sequel to '' Kessen'' in name only; both ''Kessen'' and the later sequel ''Kessen III'' are based on events in Japan and China. The gameplay involves playing out m ...

'' and all instalments of the ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

'' strategy game series. She also appears in various other video games, such as ''Hou Feng San Guo Online'', ''Zong Heng San Guo Online'', ''Meng Jiang Zhuan Online'', and ''Qun Ying Fu Online''. She is portrayed by

Gui Gui Emma Wu Ying-chieh (; born 11 August 1989), also known as Gui Gui (), is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Early life Wu Ying-chieh, nicknamed ''Gui Gui'', was born in Keelung City, Taiwan on 11 August 1989, and is the only child of divorced p ...

in the Taiwanese television drama '' K.O.3an Guo'', which spoofs the historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' in a modern high school setting.

References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''

'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''

Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...

'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Yueying People of Shu Han People from Hubei 3rd-century Chinese women

In historical records

In folklore

In popular culture

See also

References