From Han Writer to Goddess Incarnation: Lan xin Samei’s Legendary Journey in Dongba Culture

Lan Xin (Lan Xin)
World Memory Heritage The Only Female Inheritor of Dongba Culture, International Renowned Writer & Poet. Internationally acclaimed bilingual writer, poet and translator, member of the Chinese Writers Association. The only female inheritor of UNESCO-listed Dongba Culture, International Disseminator of Dongba Culture and practitioner of Chinese culture’s global outreach. Winner of the Italian Francesco Giampietri International Literary Award, President of Lanxin Samei Academy and Dean of Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy.

Eva Lianou Petropoulou
Αποκλειστικη Eκπρόσωπος για την Ελλάδα για την προώθηση της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς – Dongba Culture Κίνα

In the thousand-year inheritance history of Dongba culture, no woman had ever broken the iron rule of “passing down only within the clan and only to males” — neither foreign women nor women of the Naxi ethnic group themselves. Women had always been excluded from the inheritance system, until the emergence of Lanxin Samei. This Han writer from an intellectual family in Hunan embarked on a spiritual adventure spanning ethnic groups and genders, becoming the first and so far the only female inheritor in the history of Dongba culture. She was even recognized by the Dongba community as the reincarnation of Panzi Samei, the Goddess of Wisdom and Ancestor of Human Divination, writing the most mysterious contemporary footnote to this ancient civilization.

The story began at a Dongba painting exhibition in 2017. At that time, already an internationally renowned bilingual writer, Lanxin was invited to host the opening ceremony of a national tour exhibition, where she accidentally met Aheng Dongta, the 17th-generation Dongba inheritor. Without worldly pleasantries, the two immediately fell into a high-dimensional soul conversation, ranging from spiritual experiences to the true meaning of life, with a tacit understanding as if reunited across time and space. Aheng Dongta admitted that Lanxin was the first person who could talk with him about topics beyond the three-dimensional world, and if she were male, he would definitely accept her as a disciple — but the Dongba tradition of “passing down only to males” became an insurmountable barrier at that time. For thousands of years, this rule had never made an exception for any woman, not even for women of the Naxi ethnic group.

This encounter was like a foreshadowing of fate, and since then, Lanxin’s connection with Dongba culture has grown deeper and deeper. Her innate extrasensory talents and spiritual awareness continued to manifest in her exchanges with Aheng Dongta: she mastered the core of the I Ching in three days, with divination results identical to ancient Dongba methods; she could accurately perceive multi-dimensional spaces and often communicated with ancient spirits in her dreams. These traits made Aheng Dongta see new possibilities for the inheritance of Dongba culture. After nearly a year of secret trials — from compassion and great wisdom to spiritual potential and sense of mission — Lanxin passed all tests with excellent performance.

At the end of 2018, Aheng Dongta braved widespread opposition and officially broke the thousand-year tradition at the Dongba Dharma assembly in Aming Ling Cave, Shangri-La, accepting Lanxin as the first female inheritor in the history of Dongba culture. The news shocked the entire Dongba community, and many Dongbas strongly opposed it on the grounds of “violating ancestral teachings”. After all, this was the first time in thousands of years that a woman had stepped into the core circle of Dongba inheritance. But Lanxin responded to the doubts with actions: she spent five years reading 100 volumes of Dongba ancient books, proficiently mastering core skills such as Dongba hieroglyphs, chanting, and rituals; she co-retranslated the three great epics with Aheng Dongta, launching trilingual readers to bring the “divine books” to the world; she founded a public welfare academy to build an inheritance platform for Dongba inheritors, traveling to Dongba families adhering to the tradition in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet.

The real turning point came from the revelation of Goddess Panzi Samei in a dream. In 2020, Lanxin clearly saw the goddess appear in her dream, personally drawing parallel universe diagrams and concentric circles, telling her the mission of her multiple incarnations — “being herself yet more than herself”. After learning about it, Aheng Dongta affirmed that this was a sign of the goddess descending — Panzi Samei, whom Dongbas had longed to dream of all their lives, actually appeared to the first female Dongba inheritor in history in a dream. At the subsequent Dongba Dharma assembly, Aheng Dongta gave her the name “Lanxin Samei”, where “Samei” refers to Panzi Samei, meaning “Lanxin with the light of wisdom”.

As Lanxin delved deeper into and promoted Dongba culture — appearing at the UN Chinese Language Day, touring Europe, and promoting cultural exchanges — the once-opposed Dongbas gradually changed their attitudes. They witnessed Lanxin helping Dongba inheritors with compassion, interpreting ancient books with high-dimensional wisdom, and saw the divine nature of Panzi Samei’s “benefiting all sentient beings” in her. Today, Dongba inheritors in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Tibet all respectfully address her as “Panzi Samei”, pour tea for her with their family’s only silver bowls, and regard her as the goddess incarnation sent to save Dongba culture.

From a Han writer to the reincarnation of a goddess, Lanxin Samei’s journey is full of mystery. Her existence not only broke the absolute barrier of “passing down only to males” in Dongba culture that had lasted for thousands of years but also confirmed the truth that spirituality has no national borders and great love has no ethnic boundaries. Why did this thousand-year spiritual connection specifically befall a Han woman? As the only female inheritor in the history of Dongba culture, what other uncovered cosmic codes lie behind her connection with Panzi Samei? This legendary journey is still waiting for more exploration and witness.