The White Lotus, also called the White Lotus Bitch, is a stock female character type commonly found in Chinese
internet novels.
The term refers to a female character who appears
innocent, naïve, impossibly perfect, and
pure on the surface, but uses this reputation to back stab, blame, or sling mud on others. The term was inspired by the lotus
plant, which has a beautiful
flower floating on top of water, hiding the
plant's
messy roots stuck in marshy mud.
Common traits include:
Jealousy or greed as primary motivations for the behavior
Crying to manipulate others
Relying on powerful men
Pretending to be wronged or scared of someone
Using apologies to appear bullied
Wears white
Pretending to be saintly or perfect
Uses lying and their innocent reputations as their main weapons
Volatile temper which eventually gives themselves away
Generally an antagonist,
love rival, or stepmother
Written as dislikable to the reader
Related to the Green Tea Bitch, which is a similar character who appears kind, but is actually scheming. Level of intelligence and likability tend to be the difference, with the White Lotus losing out on both. Example: A Green Tea Bitch would leave an expensive necklace out to tempt a maid into stealing it, so she could black mail her, while a White Lotus would simply
lie that it was stolen and
cry to get a maid punished. White Lotus characters tend to be dislikable, and as such are often villains of the story.
That White Lotus cried to the crown
prince that the woman tripped her on purpose, but it must have been because of something she did. Enraged, the crown
prince sent the woman to the
cold palace, and the White Lotus rejoiced.
