View source for Lady Yin

{{Infobox character
| name              = Lady Yin
| series            = [[Investiture of the Gods]]
| image             = Sculpture of Lady Yin.jpg
| alt               =
| caption           = A sculpture of Lady Yin as depicted in ''[[Ne Zha (2019 film)|Ne Zha]]'', located in the Chengdu Hi-tech Zone
| first_major       = <!-- per [[MOS:MAJORWORK]] - major works include TV series, films, books, albums and games -->
| first_minor       = <!-- or |first_issue=; Per [[MOS:MINORWORK]] - minor works include TV episodes, chapters, songs and game missions -->
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| last              = <!-- Use instead of last_major= etc. when custom or complex formatting is needed. -->
| creator           = <!-- only the credited creators; use adapted_by= for adaptations -->
| based_on          = <!-- if not an original creation, use {{based on|character|author}} -->
| adapted_by        = <!-- for character adaption articles -->
| designer          = 
| portrayer         = 
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| full_name         = 
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| species           = Human <small>(in ''[[Investiture of the Gods]]'')</small><br>Deity <small>(in ''Xinchu Erlang Pishan Jiumu Quanduan'')</small>
| gender            = Female
| title             = 
| occupation        = <!-- or |position= or |class= -->
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| fighting_style    = 
| weapon            = 
| family            = [[Jade Emperor]] (father) <small>(in ''Xinchu Erlang Pishan Jiumu Quanduan'')</small>
| spouse            = [[Li Jing (deity)|Li Jing]]
| significant_other = 
| children          = [[Jinzha]], [[Muzha (mythology)|Muzha]], [[Nezha]]
| relatives         = 
| religion          =
| home              = Chentangguan
| nationality       =  
}}
'''Lady Yin''' ({{zh|c=殷夫人|p=Yīn Fūrén}}) is a character in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''[[Fengshen Yanyi]]''. She is the wife of [[Li Jing (deity)|Li Jing]] and they have three sons, [[Jinzha]], [[Muzha (deity)|Muzha]], and [[Nezha]]. She played a prominent role in the nurture of Nezha. In {{zhp|p=Xinchu Erlang Pishan Jiumu Quanduan'|c=新出二郎劈山救母全段|tr=Erlang Shen Splitting the Mountain to Rescue His Mother}}, a Qing dynasty folk storytelling manuscript, she is said to be the second daughter of the [[Jade Emperor]].<ref>{{Citation |author=杜聯齊/杜穎陶|script-title=zh:《董永沉香合集》 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E8%91%A3%E6%B0%B8%E6%B2%89%E9%A6%99%E5%90%88%E9%9B%86_%E9%99%84%E5%BD%95%EF%BC%9A%E5%A4%AA%E5%B9%B3%E6%AD%8C%E8%A9%9E%E3%80%88%E6%96%B0%E5%87%BA%E4%BA%8C%E9%83%8E%E5%8A%88%E5%B1%B1%E6%95%91%E6%AF%8D%E5%85%A8%E6%AE%B5%E3%80%89345-350%E9%A0%81.pdf |access-date=2024-10-08}}</ref> However, in the ''Fengshen Yanyi'' novel and subsequent adaptations, she is just a normal human woman.

Her full name is not given in the ''Fengshen Yanyi'', only her surname, Yin. She is called Lady Suzhi ({{lang|zh|素知夫人}}) in the [[Ming dynasty]] religious book ''{{ill|The Collection of Gods in Three Religions|zh|三教源流搜神大全}}''.

==Origin==
The wife of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King is not mentioned in texts prior to the Ming dynasty. It is in Ming dynasty works, such as ''{{ill|The Collection of Gods in Three Religions|zh|三教源流搜神大全}}'', ''[[The Four Journeys]]'', and other novels like ''[[Investiture of the Gods]]'', that she is first mentioned, making these some of the earliest sources to reference her.<ref name="origin">{{cite book |script-title=zh:漢调二簧 |date=1988 |publisher=the University of California |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/%E6%BC%A2%E8%B0%83%E4%BA%8C%E7%B0%A7/ZiaxAAAAIAAJ|page=145 |language=zh}}</ref>

In ''The Collection of Gods in Three Religions'', she is referred to as "Suzhi Furen" {{lang|zh|(素知夫人)}}. ''Journey to the West'' also mentions the Heavenly King's wife and states that they have a seven-year-old daughter, Li Zhenying. In both ''The Collection of Gods in Three Religions'' and ''Journey to the West'', she seems to have originally been a deity.<ref name="origin"/>

In the earlier periods of folk customs, the Heavenly King's wife was only mentioned briefly, with few references. It wasn't until the [[Qing dynasty]] that a prevailing belief emerged, identifying Lady Yin as the earthly incarnation of the Jade Emperor's second princess. According to the Qiang myth, the Heavenly Father Mu Bi Ta had three daughters: the eldest married the Dragon King, the second married a celestial god, and the third, Mu Jie Zhu, had descendants with a mortal who became the ancestors of the [[Qiang people]]. The first official genealogical records of the [[Jade Emperor]] in Han China were based on the divine lineage of the Qiang people. This narrative was later intertwined with the tale of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. The second princess's marriage to a celestial god eventually evolved into a story where she marries the Heavenly King, thereby associating Lady Yin with the second princess.<ref name="origin"/>

==In ''Fengshen 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 the deity [[Taiyi Zhenren]] put something into her arms; she woke up with pain in her abdomen and gave birth to a meatball in the incense chamber. With a round like a wheel, Li Jing slashed at meatball with a sharp sword and out jumped a child. <ref>{{cite book |script-title=zh:古书情节辞典 |trans-title=Dictionary of Ancient Book Plots] |date=1990 |publisher=江西敎育出版社 |isbn=978-7-5392-0535-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cC4QAQAAMAAJ&q=%E6%AE%B7%E6%B0%8F+%E5%93%AA%E5%90%92 |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |script-title=zh:新亞學報 Journal of New Asia: Volume 3} |date=1957 |publisher=新亞硏究所 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZ1CAAAAYAAJ&q=%E6%AE%B7%E6%B0%8F+%E5%93%AA%E5%90%92 |language=zh}}</ref>

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]]'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). According to legend, the temple built atop the hill by Lady Yin, now known as Nezha Palace, is located on Cuiping Mountain in Yibin City, [[Sichuan Province]]. It is recognized as the only Nezha ancestral temple in China.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:四川宜賓翠屏山-哪吒行宮 |url=https://www.urielshen.com/index.php?route=travel/spot&spot_id=92 |website=大品吉樂旅行社 |language=zh-tw}}</ref>

==Worship==
[[File:Statue of Lady Yin.jpg|thumb|Lady Yin statue (behind) at the Shenxian Taizi Temple, Puli, Taiwan.]]
In certain Taoist traditions and folk beliefs, Lady Yin evolved from a literary figure into a folk deity within local religious practices. She is worshiped as a deity, especially within the Nezha belief system. The Jinlong Temple in Taitung City worships Marshal Jinzha as its main deity, and the temple also enshrines his parents, Lady Yin and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=zh:金龍宮 {{!}} 拜好廟求好運 找到與您有緣的信仰 |url=https://www.17baibai.com.tw/temple/index/3489 |website=Baibai Encyclopedia |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref> Additionally, Lady Yin is enshrined as Yin Furen of Cuiping Mountain ({{lang|zh|翠屏山殷夫人}}) at the Yangshan Buddhist Hall ({{lang|zh|阳山佛堂}}) in Tainan City, Taiwan, as well as at the Shenxian Taizi Temple in Puli, Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=zh:陽山佛堂 |url=https://crgis.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/temples/TainanCity/liouying/1104013-YSFT |script-work=zh:文化資源地理資訊系統 |language=zh-tw}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{Further|List of media adaptations of the Investiture of the Gods}}
* The character increased in popularity in 2019 with the stereoscopic, animated feature film ''[[Ne Zha (2019 film)|Ne Zha]]'', which was more successful, setting numerous all-time records for [[Box office|box-office]], including the third-highest grossing of all films in China and highest-grossing animated film from outside the United States.<ref name="Amidi">{{cite web |last1=Amidi |first1=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=American Audiences Don't Have To Wait Long To See The Chinese Blockbuster ''Ne Zha'' In Theaters |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/chinese-animated-blockbuster-ne-zha-arriving-in-u-s-theaters-later-this-month-178311.html |website=[[Cartoon Brew]] |access-date=27 August 2019 |date=August 16, 2019 |quote=Some of the records it has already set: the highest-grossing Chinese animated feature of all-time, the highest-grossing non-U.S. animated feature of all-time, the third-highest grossing Chinese film of all-time, the highest-grossing animated IMAX feature in China, and the second highest-grossing local language IMAX feature in China.}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

* ''[[Investiture of the Gods]]'' chapter 13-14

{{Fengshen Yanyi}}
[[Category:Chinese goddesses]]
[[Category:Taoist deities]]
[[Category:Investiture of the Gods characters]]