She Saihua (佘賽花) is a
legend
A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...
ary
heroine
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero' ...
from ancient China's Northern
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 ...
. The wife of
Yang Ye
Yang Ye (楊業) or Yang Jiye (楊繼業)According to he changed his name directly from Liu Jiye to Yang Ye in 979, changing both the surname and the given name. If this is to be believed, the name Yang Jiye is technically incorrect, but shows ...
and the mother of their 7 sons, she is a prominent figure in the stories on ''
Generals of the Yang Family
''The Generals of the Yang Family'' is a collection of Chinese folklore, plays and novels on a military family from the earlier years of imperial China's Song Dynasty (960–1279). The stories recount the unflinching loyalty and the remarkable b ...
''.
The elderly and widowed She Saihua is also commonly known as She Taijun (佘太君; "
Dowager
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchy, monarchical and aristocracy, aristocratic Title#Aristocr ...
She") and is usually depicted with a dragon-head cane (龍頭拐杖). She allegedly lived past the age of 100.
Legends
Marriage to Yang Ye
She Saihua's father She Hong (佘洪) had already
arranged
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
for his daughter to marry Yang Ye, but changed his mind and betrothed her to Cui Long (崔龍) from the more powerful Cui family instead. When the Yang family requested marriage, She Hong sent for Cui Long to come quickly to marry his daughter. She Saihua did not like the ugly and untalented Cui Long and sent a messenger for Yang Ye. After Yang Ye's arrival and at the request of She Saihua, She Hong had no choice but to declare that the winner of the duel between the suitors would marry his daughter. Yang Ye killed Cui Long in the battle but accidentally injured She Hong who tried