Lady Yin (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 殷氏;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: Yīn Shì) is a character featured within the famed classic Chinese novel ''

Fengshen Yanyi ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

''. She is the wife of Li Jing and they have three sons,

Jinzha Jinzha () is a figure in Chinese mythology, appearing in works such as ''Investiture of the Gods''. A disciple of the superiorman Wenshu Guangfa Tianzun, he is the eldest brother of Nezha Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk re ...

, Muzha, and

Nezha Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity. Origins According to Meir Shahar, Nezh ...

. She played a prominent role in the nurture of Nezha. According to legend, she is said to be the reincarnation of the second daughter of the

Jade Emperor The Jade Emperor or Yudi ( or , ') in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of the representations of the first god ( '). In Daoist theology he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the three ...

. Her full name is Yin Wuming in the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', and it is called Lady Yin 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 ...

religious book '.

In ''Fenshen Yanyi''

Throughout the Nezha birth arc in ''Fengshen Yanyi'', Lady Yin was pregnant again after three years and six months without giving birth. One day when she was sleeping, she dreamed that a deity

Taiyi Zhenren Taiyi Zhenren () is a deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. ''Taiyi'' () means "primordial unity of yin and yang" and ''Zhenren'' () is a Daoist term for "Perfected Person". According to the opening of the classical novel '' Fengshen Bang'', he ...

put something into her arms; she woke up with pain in her abdomen and gave birth to a meat ball in the incense chamber. With a round like a wheel, Li Jing slashed at the meat ball with a sharp sword, and jumped out a child. She would always be known to reflect many acts of kindness to her third son—no matter what he truly did. Thus, Lady Yin would be seen protecting Nezha at many times throughout the novel, even when he performed horrendous actions such as the killing of

Ao Guang Ao Guang (; or ) is the Dragon King of the East Sea in Chinese folklore. He featured prominently in different works including ''Fengshen Yanyi'' and ''Journey to the West''. ''Fengshen Yanyi'' According to the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', after the passa ...

's third son, Ao Bing. After Nezha had given his own body as a sacrifice to Ao Guang in order to protect his family, Lady Yin would end up erecting a temple atop the Green Screen Hill as a stationing area for Nezha's spirit (this was because Nezha continuously pleaded to her in her sleep). Lady Yin would be scolded by Li Jing profusely following this point.

In popular culture

* The character increased in popularity in 2019 with the stereoscopic, computer-animated feature film, ''

Ne Zha Nezha ( 哪吒) is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. His official Taoist name is "Marshal of the Central Altar" (). He was then given the title "Third Lotus Prince" () after he became a deity. Origins According to Meir Shahar, Nez ...

'', was more successful, setting numerous all-time records for

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...

grosses, including third-highest-grossing of all films in China and highest-grossing animated film from outside the United States.

References

* ''

Investiture of the Gods ''The Investiture of the Gods'', also known by its Chinese names () and is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the gods and demons (''shenmo'') genre written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Cons ...

'' chapter 13-14 Investiture of the Gods characters {{novel-char-stub