Hongniang, or Scarlet, is a fictional character from "Yingying's Biography", a Chinese story by Yuan Zhen (779–831), and Romance of the Western Chamber, a Chinese play by Wang Shifu (1250–1337?). She is the maidservant of Cui Yingying.^[1]: 156 The character of Hongniang became increasingly important from Yuan Zhen's story to Wang Shifu's play and later versions, eventually becoming the protagonist in the one-act play "Hongniang."^[2]: 79

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Hongniang
Actress Chen Xinyu (陈欣雨) portraying Hongniang in a 2016 Yue opera performance in Tianchan Theatre, Shanghai.
Traditional Chinese	紅娘
Simplified Chinese	红娘
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hóngniáng Wade–Giles Hung2 Niang2

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In Wang Shifu's play, Hongniang plays a key role as a witty, cunning, and righteous character who facilitates the love affair between Cui Yingying and Scholar Zhang (Zhang Gong).^[2]: 48 Hongniang has entered modern Chinese vocabulary as a synonym for a (female) matchmaker.^[2]: 48