Top 10 Talented Women in Ancient China

For five thousand years, Chinese culture has been leading the way. In the thick historical scroll, there are countless young talents who have made contributions to poetry, lyrics and songs. Among them, there are also many talented women. This post will introduce you to the top 10 talented women in ancient China.
See Also: Top 10 Poets in Ancient China

1. Li Qingzhao 李清照

Top 10 Talented Women in Ancient ChinaLi Qingzhao (from March 13, 1084 to about 1155), a native of the Han nationality, is the Yi’an Jushi, a native of Jinan, Qizhou (now Zhangqiu District, Jinan, Shandong Province), a female poet in the Song Dynasty, and a representative of the graceful and restrained Ci school. She is known as “the most talented woman in all ages”. Li Qingzhao was born in a scholarly family. In her early life, she lived well. Her father, Li Gefei, was rich in books. When she was young, she laid a literary foundation in a good family environment. After getting married, she and her husband, Zhao Mingcheng, worked together to collect and sort out calligraphy, painting, gold and stone. In the early stage, she wrote more about her leisurely life. In the later stage, she lamented her life experience and was sentimental.

2. Guan Daosheng 管道升

Guan Daosheng (1262-1319, May 29), a famous female calligrapher, painter, and poet of the Yuan Dynasty, was born in Maoshan (today’s Maoshan Village, Ganshan Town), Deqing, Zhejiang, and Huating (today’s Qingpu, Shanghai). Jingding was born three years ago in the Southern Song Dynasty. He learned calligraphy and painting at a young age and believed in Buddhism. Zeng wrote dozens of volumes of Vajra Sutra in calligraphy and gave it to Mingshan Temple. He married Zhao Mengfu, a famous painter and calligrapher in Wuxing of the Yuan Dynasty, and was granted the title of Lady Wu Xingjun and Lady Guan. In the fourth year of Yanyou’s reign (1317), he was granted the title of Lady Wei. Guan Daosheng’s running script is quite similar to Zhao Mengfu’s, and his “Xuanji Pictorial Poems” is very skillful. Good at poetry. Especially good at painting ink bamboo and plum orchids. Qingzhu Xinhuang is its first. Yanyou died of illness in 1319. The surviving volumes such as “The Painting of Water Bamboo” are now collected in the Palace Museum in Beijing; “The Bamboo and Stone Painting” 1 frame, in the Palace Museum of Taiwan.

3. Shangguan Wan’er 上官婉儿

Shangguan Wan’er (664-710, July 21), with a family name of Shangguan and a small character of Wan’er, also known as Shangguan Zhaorong, is a native of Shaanxi County (now Shaanxi County, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province), whose ancestral home is Shanggui in Longxi, and a female official, poet, and imperial concubine of the Tang Dynasty. After his grandfather Shangguanyi was killed for his crime, he joined his mother Zheng as a servant in the inner court. At the age of 14, she was put in important position for Empress Wu because of her intelligence and good writing. She had been in charge of making imperial court for many years, and was known as “Prime Minister of Women”. In the time of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, he was granted the title of Zhaorong, which was more powerful and had a prominent position in the political and literary circles. From then on, he took charge of the decrees and proclamations of the internal court and the external court as the imperial concubine. He once proposed to expand the library and add more bachelors. During this period, he presided over elegance and commented on the world’s poetry and prose on behalf of the imperial court. At one time, many of his ministers collected his poems, and the Complete Tang Poetry collected 32 of his poems. In 710, Linzi King Li Longji launched the Tang Long coup and was killed at the same time as Empress Wei.

4. Suhui 苏惠

Su Hui, whose name is Ruolan, was born in 357 AD in Dongfufeng (now Xianyang Wugong in Shaanxi Province) during the Sixteen Kingdoms Period. Ruolan is beautiful and elegant. Dou Tao, her husband, was dismissed and sent to Liusha because he was tired of war and refused to obey the military order. He met Zhao Balcony, a singer, and married him as a doghouse. Dou Tao was ordered out of Xiangyang and wanted to go with his wife and concubine, but Su Hui was angry about Zhao’s concubine. Dou Tao only took Zhao’s balcony to his post. Su Hui stayed alone in Chang’an’s empty boudoir, and felt lonely for a long time. She used to compose poems to relieve her lonely time. She arranged and arranged her poems in 29 lines and 29 columns, which were woven on eight inch brocade. She named this brocade “Xuan Ji Tu”. Su Hui sends someone to send Xuanji’s drawing to Dou Tao. Dou Tao held the “Xuanji Diagram”, carefully comprehended it and completely understood its meaning. Dou Tao sent a team to Chang’an to pick up Su Hui.

5. Zhuang Jiang 庄姜

Zhu Xi, a native of the Song Dynasty, believed that Zhuang Jiang was the first female poet in Chinese history in his book of supervised poems. She was the princess of the State of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the wife of Duke Wei Zhuang. When Zhuang Jiang was described in The Book of Songs, Wei Feng, Huge People, he said: “The hands are like catkins, the skin is like curd, the collar is like a crystal printer, the teeth are like a gourd rhinoceros, the head of a cicada is like an eyebrow, and the beautiful eyes look forward to it.” Zhuang Jiang is the princess of the State of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period. Jiang is the surname of the royal family of the State of Qi. Because he married Duke Zhuang Wei, the king of the State of Wei, he was called Zhuang Jiang. A beautiful woman who first appeared in the Book of Songs was born into a noble family and was the daughter of Hou Clan.

6. Gu Taiqing 顾太清

Gu Taiqing (1799-1876), named Spring, has the name Mei Xian. The original surname was Xilin Jueluo, a man from Manchuria with blue flags. Married to the side Fujin painted by Belle Yi. She is recognized as “the first poetess of the Qing Dynasty” by the modern literary circle. In his later years, he wrote the novel Dream of the Red Mansions in the name of “Yun Cha Wai Shi”, and became the first female novelist in the history of Chinese novels. His literary talent and insight are extraordinary. Therefore, the Eight Banners Theory of Ci has the saying that “a man is as tolerant as a man (Nalan Xingde), and a woman is too young (Gu Taiqing)”. Gu Taiqing is not only talented, but also beautiful, modest and virtuous. It makes Yihui fall in love. Although he had four sons and three daughters in his life, several of his sons had made great achievements.

7. Zuo Fen 左棻

Zuo Fen (? – 300 years), a poet of the Western Jin Dynasty, was a native of Linzi (now Zibo, Shandong Province) in the State of Qi. Be less eager to learn and be good at writing. He is a noble man of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty. Today, there are more than 20 poems, fu, eulogy, praise, eulogy, etc., most of which are written in response to the imperial edict. Lisi Fu is the most famous. The original collection has been lost. Zuo Fen was eager to learn from an early age and good at writing articles. Her reputation was second only to her brother Zuo Si. When Emperor Wu of the Jin heard that Zuo Fen was very talented, he brought her into the harem. In the first eight years of Thailand (AD 272), Emperor Wu of Jin granted Zuo Fen as Xiuyi. Later, he was granted the title of your concubine, and was called the concubine of the left concubine.

8. Xie Daoyun 谢道韫

Xie Daoyun (whose birth and death years are unknown), named Ling Jiang, was a female poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. She was the niece of Prime Minister Xie An, the daughter of General Xie Yi of Anxi, and the wife of Wang Ningzhi, the second son of the famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi. Xie Daoyun left few deeds, among which the most famous story is recorded in Shishuoxinyu: Xie An discussed with his nephews on a snowy day what can be used to describe flying snow. Xie Lang, Xie An’s nephew, said that “the difference between the air and salt can be simulated”, while Xie Daoyun said that “if the catkins were blown up by the wind”, he was praised by everyone because of his subtle metaphor. Also because of this famous story, she, together with Ban Zhao and Cai Yan of the Han Dynasty, became the representative of talented women in ancient China, and “Chanting Xu Zhi Cai” became a common term for women who later became known as literary talents. This story is also known as “Cai Wenji can distinguish the piano. Xie Daoyun can chant.” Mentioned.

9. Zhu Shuzhen 朱淑真

Zhu Shuzhen (about 1135~about 1180), a famous female poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, is one of the most prolific female writers since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province) is a native of Shezhou (now Shexian County, Anhui Province). Be as famous as Li Qingzhao. Born in an official family. Young policemen are intelligent and good at reading, but their love is gloomy and unsuccessful. Her husband was a petty official in grammar. He died early due to depression because of the incompatibility of interests and interests and the disharmony between husband and wife. It is also said that after Shuzhen’s death, her parents torched her manuscript. The rest of his life can not be tested, and he has no final conclusion. The extant “Heartbroken Poems Collection” and “Heartbroken Ci” have been handed down, and they are the remaining chapters of the afterlife.

10. Liu Rushi 柳如是

Liu Rushi (1618-1664), a female poet in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, whose real name is Yang Ai, is also called Hedong Jun, because she read Xin Qiji’s “He bridegroom” in the Song Dynasty: “I see how charming the green mountains are, and I should be like that when I see the green mountains”, so she called herself “Yes”. From Jiaxing, Zhejiang. Together with Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Gu Hengbo, Kou Baimen, and Chen Yuanyuan, they are called “Qinhuai Bayan”. Later, Qian Qianyi, a great talent of the Ming Dynasty, was married as a side room. Liu Rushi was a famous geisha and talented woman during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. She was intelligent and eager to learn when she was young. However, because of her poor family, she was sold to Wujiang as a servant since childhood. When she was young, she fell into Zhangtai and changed her name to Liu Yin. In the turbulent times, she traveled between Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Jinling. The main works left are “Grass on the Lake”, “Wuyin Grass” and “Calligraphy”. In addition, Liu Rushi has profound family and political aspirations. Xu Tianxiao once commented that “his lofty ideals, his generous actions, and his euphemism and fierceness are not true patriots.”