The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' () is a book compiled by the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

scholar Liu Xiang c. 18 BCE. It includes 125 biographical accounts of exemplary women in ancient China, taken from early Chinese histories including '' Chunqiu'', '' Zuozhuan'', and the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

''. The book served as a standard

Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

textbook for the

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

of women in traditional China for two millennia.

Description

The idealized biographies are divided into eight scrolls, including the eighth addendum from an unknown editor, as shown below. This book follows the ''lièzhuàn'' (列傳 "arrayed biographies") biographical format established by the Chinese historian

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...

. The word ''liènǚ'' (列女 "famous women in history") is sometimes understood as ''liènǚ'' (烈女 "women martyrs"), which Neo-Confucianists used to mean a "woman who commits suicide after her husband's death rather than remarry; woman who dies defending her honor." The online Chinese Text Initiative at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

provides an e-text edition of the ''Lienü Zhuan'', including both digitized Chinese content and images of a

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

woodblock edition with illustrations by

Gu Kaizhi Gu Kaizhi (; c. 344–406), courtesy name Changkang (), was a Chinese painter and politician. He was a celebrated painter of ancient China.Cihai: Page 1846. He was born in Wuxi and first painted at Nanjing in 364. In 366, he became an officer (Da ...

(c. 344-405 CE) of the Jin dynasty.

Biographies included

*Meng Mu, the mother of

Mencius Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...

(孟子), a single mother who raised her son carefully despite poverty *

Zheng Mao Zheng Mao () was the primary wife of King Cheng of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. She is one of 125 women whose biographies are included in the '' Biographies of Exemplary Women'', written by Liu Xiang. ...

(鄭瞀), advised her husband, who lost power shortly after she killed herself *

Consort Ban Consort Ban (c. 48 BCE – c. 2 BCE), or Ban Jieyu (), also known as Lady Ban (Pan), was a Chinese scholar and poet during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 23 CE). ''Jieyu'' (婕妤) was a title for a third-rank palace lady, one rank below th ...

(班婕妤), (48 BCE - 6 BCE), scholar and poet, pleaded legal cases *

Empress Zhao Feiyan Zhao Feiyan (, ? – 1 BC),Peterson, Barbara Bennett & He Hong Fei & Han Tie & Wang Jiyu & Zhang Guangyu. (1999) ''Notable Women of China'' "M.E. Sharpe". pp. 87–90. . formally Empress Xiaocheng (孝成皇后), was an empress during the Han Dy ...

(趙飛燕) (c. 32 BCE – 1 BCE), empress from 16 BCE until 7 BCE, a powerful courtier * Empress Wang (王皇后) (8 BCE – 23 CE), last empress of the

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

, refused to remarry after a coup * Empress Ma (馬皇后) (40–79 CE), empress from 60 CE until her death in 79 CE, a political advisor known for her modesty and frugality *

Bo Ying Bo Ying () was a consort to the sixth-century BC Chu ruler, King Ping, and mother of his successor, King Zhao. Biography Bo Ying was a daughter of the ruler of Qin. The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' states that Bo Ying's father was Duke ...

(伯嬴), mother to

King Zhao of Chu King Zhao of Chu (, died 489 BC) was from 515 to 489 BC the king of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Zhen () and King Zhao was his posthumous title. Documents unearthed in the former state ...

, fought her would-be rapist with a knife and lectured him on morality By

Huangfu Mi Huangfu Mi (215–282), courtesy name Shi'an (), was a Chinese physician, essayist, historian, poet, and writer who lived through the late Eastern Han dynasty, Three Kingdoms period and early Western Jin dynasty. He was born in a poor farming fam ...

: * Zhao E (趙娥), noble of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the Three Kingdoms period, decapitated her father's killer and turned herself in *

Xiahou Lingnu Xiahou () is a Chinese compound surname from the Spring and Autumn period. After the State of Qi was destroyed by Chu, Duke Jian of Qi's ( 杞简公) younger brother, Prince Tuo (公子佗), fled to the State of Lu. Duke Dao of Lu ( 鲁悼� ...

(夏侯令女), aristocrat of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

during the Three Kingdoms period, refused to remarry after her husband's family were executed for treason

References

*Carlitz, Katherine. (1991). "The Social Uses of Female Virtue in Late Ming Editions of ''Lienu Zhuan''." ''Late Imperial China'' 12.2: 117-48. *Raphals, Lisa. (1998). ''Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China''. SUNY Press. *O'Hara, Albert Richard, tr. (1945). ''The position of woman in early China: according to the'' Lieh nu chuan, ''"The biographies of Chinese women"''. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press. 1955 reprint. Hong Kong: Orient Publishing Co. 1980 reprint. Westport, CT: Hyperion Press.

External links

''Lienü Zhuan''
University of Virginia E-text

ChinaKnowledge
列女傳

Chinese Text Project The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...

Traditions of Exemplary Women: Liu Xiang's ''Lienü Zhuan''
, Anne Behnke Kinney

Gregory Smits, Topics in Premodern Chinese History {{Confucian texts Chinese classic texts Han dynasty texts Han dynasty literature 1st-century BC books Women in China Biographical dictionaries of women Social history of China

Description

Biographies included

See also

References

External links