A legendary Taoist goddess who was an expert in the art of love. In the Han Dynasty court, the term “采女” originally referred to a third-class palace maid. The “History of the Later Han Dynasty: Empress Biography” says: “There are also three classes of palace maids: beauties, palace maids, and 采女 (cai nu, lit. ‘color maid’). Later generations also called 采女 (cai nu) ‘color maid’, which usually referred to an ordinary palace maid. In ancient Chinese books on the art of love, 采女 (cai nu) was a student of Peng Zu, and was sent by the king to learn the art of love from Peng Zu. The second chapter of the “Medical Heart Formula” states: “The female apprentice said: Those who have learned the art of love are truly blessed. The king sent the female apprentice to ask Peng Zu the secret to longevity. According to the ‘Record of Immortals in the Walled City’, the female apprentice was a palace maid of the king of the Shang Dynasty. She had learned the secret to nourishing the soul and, at the age of 270, looked like a girl of 15 or 16. Legend has it that the king of the Shang Dynasty kept Peng Zu in the palace and sent the female apprentice to ask Peng Zu the secret to longevity. The maid asked Peng Zu for the secret of longevity, and Peng Zu replied, “Take the golden pill of the Immortal Master, and you can ascend to heaven in broad daylight, join the ranks of the immortals, love your essence and nourish your spirit, take herbal medicine, and you can live forever, but you cannot control ghosts and gods, fly through empty space, manipulate the flow of yin and yang, guide stretching and flexing, make all joints move normally, shut down without getting stuck, and sit and forget to refine your essence. All of these can make you live a long life.” The Taoist priest Cai Nü taught the Shang king the essentials of Taoism, and the Shang king followed Peng Zu's path and lived to be 300 years old.

  道教传说中一位精通房中术的神女。采女在汉代宫廷中，原指三等的宫女。《后汉书·皇后纪序》曰：又置美人宫人采女三等。后世又称彩女，通常指普通宫女。在中国古代房中术书籍中，采女是彭祖的学生，由君王派向彭祖学习房中之术。《医心方》卷二八称：素女云：有采女者，妙得道术。王使采女问彭祖延年益寿之法。另据《墉城集仙录》记载，采女为商王宫女。少得养神之道，年二百七十余，视如十五六岁少女。相传商王留彭祖于掖庭，使采女问道于彭祖。采女问延年益寿之法，彭祖答曰：“服元君太一金丹，可白日升天，上补仙官，爱精养神，服食草药，可以长生，但不能役使鬼神，乘虚飞行，阴阳运凡，导引屈伸，使百节凡行，关机无滞，坐忘炼液，皆可以令人久寿。”采女面受修道之要，以教商王，商王行彭祖之道亦三百岁。