Nie Xiaoqian or Nieh Hsiao-chien is the lead female character in "The Magic Sword", a fantasy story in Pu Songling's short story collection Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.[1] Pu describes her appearance as "gorgeous; girl in paintings" (traditional Chinese: 艷絕；畫中人; simplified Chinese: 艳绝；画中人). The story has been adapted into numerous films and television dramas. The name is commonly rendered as Nip Siu Sin in Hong Kong adaptations in accordance with its Cantonese pronunciation.
