Su Nu was a legendary goddess in ancient times. She lived at the same time as the Yellow Emperor, and was said to be good at music. The Records of the Grand Historian: The Emperor Taidi had Su Nu play the 50-stringed zither. The Garden of Ancient Writings quotes Yang Xiong's “Taizhen Fu” four times: “Hearing Su Nu's clear voice, I watched Mi Fei's wonderful performance.” Some say she knew the ways of yin and yang and the heavens. “The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue: An Extra-Official Biography of Goujian's Conquest of Wu” When the King of Yue returned to Wu, he asked Fan Li, ‘What do you think? Is it in line with the will of heaven?’ Fan Li said, ”This is the way of the female immortal. One word is enough to bring the world together. Some say that she was proficient in the art of lovemaking. Together with the female immortal of the Ninth Heaven, she was the teacher of the Yellow Emperor, teaching the art of lovemaking. Therefore, in later generations, the art of lovemaking was also called the way of the female immortal or the way of the female immortal. “Lun Heng · Ming Yi": ‘The five methods of the female immortal taught to the Yellow Emperor not only hurt the feelings of parents, but also robbed men and women of their sexuality.’ Zhang Heng's ‘Yue Fu’ The female immortal is my teacher, and the old man of heaven taught Xuan Xuan. Also, ‘Yutai New Songs’ Volume 1 contains Zhang Heng's ‘Song of the Same Voice’
Clothes unraveled, gold and powdered, The bed is lined with pictures and pillows.
The female immortal is my teacher, her bearing is pleasing to all.
All the husbands long to see it, the prime minister teaches the emperor.
“Yun Ji Qi Xi · Xuanyuan Ben Ji” (The Yellow Emperor) learned the art of lovemaking from the female immortal Xuan Yuan and was able to satisfy 300 women. “Baopuzi Nei Pian · Ji Yan” (The Inner Chapters of Baopu Zi · Extreme Words) The Yellow Emperor discussed the cultivation of the Dao and enlisted the help of the two female immortals Xuan Yuan and Su Nu. Later generations attributed the “Su Nu Jing” (The Su Nu Classic) to Su Nu, which is a work dedicated to health preservation in the bedroom. Ge Hong's “Bao Pu Zi Nei Pian · Xia Lan” (The Inner Chapters of the Book of Idle Pleasures) contains the title of the “Su Nu Jing” (The Su Nu Classic). The “Su Shi · Jing Ji Zhi” (The Su Shi · Records of Classics) records “Su Nu Mi Dao Jing” (The Su Nu Secret Way Classic), “Su Nu Fang” (The Su Nu Female), and “Su Nu Yang Sheng Yao Fang” (The Su Nu Health Preservation Prescription), but they have all been lost. During the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty (1875-1909), Ye Dehui of Changsha compiled scattered content from the book “Yixinfang” written by the Japanese Tanba Kanglai into a monograph on sexual techniques such as “The Su Nu Jing”, which was included in the “Shuangmeijingyun Series”.
In addition, there are also stories that say that the Su Nu is the Heavenly River Goddess. For example, in Tao Qian's “Search for Gods Postscript”, Volume 5, it is said that during the Jin Dynasty, Xie Duan found a large snail in the countryside. He took it home and stored it in an urn. One day, he went out early and returned late, and peeked outside the snail's shell to see a young girl emerging from the urn. He asked where she came from, and she replied, “I am the Heavenly River White Water Goddess.”
素女为古代传说中的神女。她与黄帝同时，或言其擅长音乐。《史记·封禅书》太帝使素女鼓五十弦瑟。 《古文苑》四引杨雄《太玄赋》：听素女之清兮，观宓妃之妙曲。或言其知阴阳天道。《吴越春秋·勾践伐吴外传》越王还于吴，当归，而问于范蠡曰：何子言之，其合于天？范蠡日：此素女之道，一言即合天下事。或言其精通房中术。曾与九天玄女一道为黄帝之师，传授房中术。故后世亦把房中术称为玄素或素女之道。《论衡·命义》：“素女对黄帝陈五女法，非徒伤父母之心，乃又贼男女之性。”张衡《乐府》素女为我师，天老教轩宣。又《玉台新咏》卷一载张衡《同声歌》
衣解金粉御， 列图陈枕张。
素女为我师， 仪态盈万方。
众夫所希见， 元老教轩皇。
《云笈七羲·轩辕本纪》 (黄帝)于玄女素女受房中之术，能御三百女。 《抱朴子内篇·极言》黄帝论道养性，则资玄素二女。后世有托名素女所传的《素女经》为专讲房中养生的著作。葛洪《抱朴子内篇·遐览》载有《素女经》书名。《隋书·经籍志》著录《素女秘道经》一卷《素女方》一卷《素女养生要方》等，但均失传。清光绪(1875-1909年)年间，长沙叶德辉从日人丹波康赖所撰《医心方》一书中，把零散的内容辑成《素女经》等房中术专著，共收入《双梅景窨丛书》中。
此外，还有说素女为天河神女的。如陶潜《搜神后记》卷五称：晋谢端于邑下得-大螺。取归贮瓮中畜之。一日早出潜归，于蓠外偷窥，见一少女从瓮中出。问从何来，答曰：我天汉中白水素女。