Lady Ziwei's surname was Wang, so she was also known as Lady Wang Ziwei. Tao Hongjing's Zhenhao (Authentic Instructions) says th at her name was Qing'e, meaning “pure and beautiful,” and that she was the twentieth daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. She was the left-hand lady of the Ziwei Palace and guarded the mountains of Yuren and Helong. She once descended to the mortal world and bestowed the Supreme Taoist Scripture on Pei Xuanren, teaching him the way to cultivate and enabling him to ascend to immortality.
She also came down to the mortal world again in the third year (365) of the Xingning reign period (363–366) of the Jin dynasty, and taught the Shangqing scriptures at the home of the Daoist Yang Xian, pointing him towards the Dao and helping him attain immortality. Her work in encouraging good deeds and guiding people is widely known in Taoism. Tao Hongjing described her as having a wealth of talents and a charming personality, always speaking eloquently and with great eloquence, guiding people from beginning to end, always going beyond reason.

 紫微夫人姓王，故又称紫微王夫人。陶弘景《真诰》称其名清娥，安愈意，或言愈音，为西王母的第二十位女儿，位为紫微宫左夫人，镇守羽野玄陇之山。曾降凡人间，将太上宝经授给裴玄仁，并授以修炼之法，使其登仙。
又于晋兴宁(363-366年)三年(365年)再度下凡，于道士杨羲之家授上清经书，指点杨羲修道成真。其劝善导引之功，在道教中广泛流传。陶弘景称其才丰情绮，动言富逸，牵引始末，恒超理外。