Luoshen

Goddess of the Luo River

River goddess Mifu of the Luo, immortalized by Cao Zhi’s ode and Gu Kaizhi’s scroll.

The Goddess of the Luo River, Mifei, was said to be the daughter of Fuxi who drowned in the Luo and became its spirit. Cao Zhi’s “Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo” — with her light steps over the waves and the dust rising from her silken socks — fixed her as the supreme image of beauty in Chinese letters, and Gu Kaizhi’s handscroll made the meeting of poet and goddess one of the masterpieces of early painting.