Sunü () is an ancient Chinese goddess associated with music and sexuality. She is viewed as the divine sister of the Chinese war and sex goddess

Jiutian Xuannü Jiutian Xuannü is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity in Chinese mythology.. The swordswoman Yuenü is a reincarnation of Jiutian Xuannü. Etymology This goddess was initially known as .. The name has been variously translated as the "Dark L ...

. She is traditionally portrayed as a highly skilled singer who plays a

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

, and Sunü's songs were known for their ability to pacify wild animals, inspire plants to grow, as well as change the seasons. "When she plays... it can make the wind warm in winter, snow in summer..." In the ''History of Chinese Literature'' (中国文学史), Sunü is imagined as the first female harp player. As goddess of sexuality, Sunü was said to share sexual expertise with the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch, or Huangdi ( zh, t=黃帝, s=黄帝, first=t) in Chinese, is a mythical Chinese sovereign and culture hero included among the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. He is revered as ...

and is said to have authored ''

Su Nü Jing ''Su Nü Jing'' or ''Su Nü Ching'' - ''Classic of the White Madam'' (素女經), is a Chinese sexology book written before the Han dynasty. It belongs to the Chinese classics and presents the Taoist sexual practices.In the Han dynasty Zhang He ...

'', the basic book of Taoist sexology.

Etymology

She and Xuannü are divine sisters. Both their names combined, as ''xuansu zhidao'' (), signify the Daoist arts of the bedchamber.

Legends

According to the ''

Classic of Mountains and Seas The ''Classic of Mountains and Seas'', also known as ''Shanhai jing'' (), formerly romanized as the ''Shan-hai Ching'', is a Chinese classic text and a compilation of mythic geography and beasts. Early versions of the text may have existed si ...

'', Sunü lived in the region of Guangdu (or Duguang, corresponding to Shuangliu, near

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, Sichuan) in the region of the Heishui, close to the tomb of

Hou Ji Hou Ji (or Houji; ) was a legendary Chinese culture hero credited with introducing millet to humanity during the time of the Xia dynasty.. Millet was the original staple grain of north and South China, northern China, prior to the introduction of ...

. As recounted in the earliest Chinese

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

Shiben The ''Shiben'' or ''Book of Origins'' (Pinyin: ''shìběn''; Chinese; 世本; ) was an early Chinese encyclopedia which recorded imperial genealogies from the mythical Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors down to the late Spring and Autumn period ...

'',

Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi ( zh, c=伏羲) is a culture hero in Chinese mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking, as well as the Cangjie syste ...

was the creator of the

( se or qin). The story as told is that there were three goddesses in the era of Huangdi (the

), namely Sunü (, "the Simple Woman"), Xuannü (, "the Mysterious Woman"), and Cainü (, "the Colorful Woman"); the three sisters taught the Huangdi Taoist sexual practices, the theory of sex, and physically practiced the teachings with him. Among the three, Sunü was the best at music. Since Sunü was the best musician, Huangdi sent her to play the zither. When she was not able to master the fifty-string instrument, she divided it into two parts - each with twenty-five strings.

References

{{reflist Chinese goddesses Love and lust goddesses Health goddesses