Fragrant Concubine

The figure known as the Fragrant Concubine is commonly associated with Consort Rong, a Uyghur consort of the Qianlong Emperor. Popular legend transformed her into a resistant princess from Xinjiang whose body naturally carried a floral scent.

The Fragrant Concubine is a legendary literary figure usually associated with the historical Rong Fei, a Uyghur consort of the Qianlong Emperor. Later Chinese stories transformed the sparse court record into a romantic narrative of resistance, exotic beauty and forced marriage, so legend and biography must be carefully distinguished.

In Jin Yong’s The Book and the Sword (the ^Amartial Arts Novels of Louis Cha), The novel uses a popular dynastic legend and the figure remembered as the Fragrant Concubine to examine identity, betrayal and the limits of patriotic conspiracy.