From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Chén Yuányuán (陳圓圓, 1924-1681), born Xing Yuan (邢沅), a Ming Chinese, was a concubine of Wu Sangui, who broke into the fortress of Li Zicheng to rescue her. Her courtesy name was Wanfen (畹芬).
Chen's parents died early, and she grew up tending her maternal grandmother Chen-shi in Taiyuan, Shanxi. She was sold as a performer to Suzhou, first for Tian Wan(田畹), than to Wu.
She died in a Taoist convent in Hunan. She became the title character of a Beijing opera of 1923.
