This video is part of a companion course series leading up to the release of my third book, I Ching, The Oracle. I’ve covered this topic previously here, “Mysterious Lady of the Ninth Heaven (Jiu Tian Xuan Nü, 九天玄女).” However, given the personal relevance, we’re revisiting the Lady of the Nine Heavens, now within the context of my Purpose for publishing this new translation of the Book of Changes.

Feel free to download the above high-res image file and create a physical art print with it for your personal use only. So as long as you’re not publishing or distributing anything with the above image and simply creating something with it for your own personal or spiritual uses at home, then go for it! Image file provided at 6.15″ x 10.24″ dimension, at 300 dpi.

For easy reference, I’ll be referring to Jiu Tian Xuan Nu as JTXN.

Heaven or Heavens: Plural vs. Singular

The perspective I’m most interested in is that of the native practitioner in East and Southeast Asia where JTXN is most venerated. When I raise this question of how it ought to be translated– as X Lady of the Ninth Heaven or X Lady of the Nine Heavens, it seems like it depends on who you ask. I’ve heard both.

“JTXN is from the uppermost Ninth or highest point of Heaven.” And so it’s singular.

“JTXN is from the realm of Heaven, and that’s all we really know, and since there are nine provinces, we should acknowledge all nine.” So it’s plural.

On “Xuan” + Why Do I Omit Translation of “Xuan” in JTXN’s English Name?

Non-Chinese speakers are looking at that “X” and freaking out. When you see “x” in Mandarin pin yin, pronounce it as “shhh” So “Xuan” is pronounced “shwen.”

“Xuan 玄” could mean the color black, or opaque, or mysterious, profound, or the greatest depths, or the sky, as in interstellar space and implying the infinite expanse of the dark night. In addition, it means esoteric, occult, and mystical. It is perhaps the most important descriptive or identity marker when referencing JTXN. Yet when I speak English, I tend to just say Lady of the Nine Heavens and leave out translation of “Xuan.” Why?

Well, for one, it’s just easier to say. But there’s something synchronistically cool about leaving that facet silent and implied, especially given the layered meaning of xuan.

So when we make reference to the Tiān Mìng Xuán Niǎo 天命玄鳥  totemic animal that the Shang people descend from, is it the Heavenly Black Bird of Destiny? The Mysterious Bird of Destiny? Or does the juxtaposition of the words “heaven” and “xuan” suggest that she comes from interstellar space, which from our vantage point on earth, would be the far-beyond depths of the heavens?

Just really interesting considerations to ponder…

The above is a beautiful digital illustration of JTXN by Beijingnese artist Pei Feng-nan. Check out more of her beautiful artwork here, here, or here. By the way, if you’re vibing with Pei Feng-nan’s art, I encourage you to visit one of her art pages and leave her compliments! 🙂

Closing Thoughts

You always hear about how Wikipedia entries cannot be trusted but I didn’t fully comprehend how true that was until I started looking up Wikipedia entries for topics in Taoism, Confucianism, and all things related to Chinese folk religions. It dismays me when people assume that the information on Wikipedia is accurate and reliable, and then use that to argue against native practitioners who inherited the cultural knowledge, rather than learning it from a secondary source.

Wikipedia — and particularly extreme in topics relating to Taoism — is heavily filtered through the white cis-male perspective. Over 75% of US Wikipedia contributors are White, and only 7.5% are Asian/Asian American. Not to mention, 80% of contributors are male. And we cannot not account for the fact that a significant proportion of white cis men who make their way into Asian studies have Asian fetishes. So when you read Wikipedia entries, whose perspective are you getting?

The result, at least from my vantage point, is a difference in focal points and emphasis. How a white cis-male with some learned knowledge in Asian studies describes JTXN — what they like to focus on — is entirely different from how a native with inherited knowledge describes JTXN. So, for example, an aspect of JTXN lore that a native Asian would view as obscure even blasphemous, a white cis-male scholar makes it her whole personality.

It’s not about who is “wrong” and who is “right.” It’s about fair and balanced representation of perspectives. And for far too long, Asians have not been given the platform to speak for ourselves, least of all Asian women.