Topic summary

Pan Jinlian

Pan Jinlian

Pan Jinlian (Chinese: 潘金蓮; Wade–Giles: P'an Chin-lien) is a fictional character in the Chinese novel Jin Ping Mei (The Plum in the Golden Vase), and a minor character in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. She is an archetypal femme fatale and one of the most notorious villainesses of classical Chinese culture. Her story contributed to the popularization of the “hero kills his sister-in-law” trope in Chinese literature. She has also become the patron goddess of brothels and prostitutes.