to expunge all the heterodox and crude elements from Jiutian Xuannü's popular legends, such as the erotic and sexually-empowering nature of the goddess, to create a new image of a martial goddess that was appropriate for the Shangqing school of Daoism. In the Ming dynasty, Jiutian Xuannü officially became a celestial protectress and was venerated as a tutelary goddess of the state. In 1493, Empress Zhang (1470–1541), who was the wife of the Hongzhi Emperor, was ordained and her ordination was certified in a scroll entitled The Ordination of Empress Zhang, which contains numerous images of deities (but not Jiutian Xuannü) and an inscription composed by the Daoist master Zhang Xuanqing (, d. 1509) of the Zhengyi school. This inscription ranks Jiutian Xuannü above all other celestial warriors by placing her ahead of the divine categories Generals, Marshals, Heavenly Soldiers, the Six Ding Jade Maidens, and the Six Jia Generals. Furthermore, it granted her the expanded official title Jiutian Zhanxie Huzheng Xuannü (, translated "Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens who Slays Evil and Protects Righteousness"). The Lingbao Liuding Mifa associates the phrase "slaying evil and protecting righteousness" () with the goddess and emphasizes that "in order to slay evil and return to righteousness, one first needs to know how to become invisible" (). The veneration and elevation of Jiutian Xuannü may have had an underlying political rationale, as it positioned an aristocratic family over another. The relationship of Empress Zhang and Jiutian Xuannü closely paralleled the relationship of the Ming emperors and Xuanwu, another important deity in Daoism, which promoted the empress and her family's position in the imperial court. This was during a time of strife between the Zhang family and Zhou family (of Empress Dowager Zhou, the grandmother of the Hongzhi Emperor), the latter who adhered to Buddhism. Jiutian Xiannü is a fertility goddess, which also may have contributed to Empress Zhang's worship of the deity. In contemporary times, she has also been considered a patron of marriage and fertility, and is regarded by believers to have been responsible for the customs in Chinese culture by which people with the same surnames have been forbidden to marry. Appearance In the Taishang Laojun Zhongjing, Jiutian Xuannü is described as being dressed only in the white of Venus and the brilliant stars, with her pearl of Great Brilliance shining in illumination. When Jiutian Xuannü appeared before Huangdi as narrated