Wang Wei (; 1597–1647), also known by her
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...
Xiuwei (), was a Chinese
courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...
, poet, and traveller during the late
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
.
Biography
Nothing is known of her family background. At age seven, when Wang's father died, she was orphaned. She was taken in by somebody in the
brothel district of
Yangzhou
Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north ...
and trained to be a courtesan. The training included literacy and artistic skills. During this time she developed a friendship with another courtesan, Yang Wan, the two calling themselves "sworn sisters". Wang referred to herself as the "Straw-coated Daoist". As a courtesan she travelled by
skiff
A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have deve ...
between
Suzhou and Kuaiji (now
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...
). The boat carried many books and she was often accompanied by well known literary figures of the day, including
Zhong Xing and
Tan Yuanchun, founders of the Jingling school of poetry. She also travelled to
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
in Wulin (now
Hangzhou
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
), a hotspot for literati at the time, and as far as
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
.
Wishing to change her life, she turned to Buddhism and started to travel, dressed in a simple cotton robe. During her travels she climbed to the peaks of
mount Dabie, Mount Xuan,
Mount Tianzhu, Mount Kuang and
Mount Lu
Mountain Lu or Lushan (, Gan: Lu-san), officially named Mountain Lu National Park, is a mountain in China. It was also known as Kuanglu () in ancient times. It is situated in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and is one of the most renowned mounta ...
. After travelling she settled in Wulin. She intended to spend the rest of her life there and prepared a tomb for her eventual death. As the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
began to crumble, the time became chaotic and Wang was raped in the early 1640s, after which she turned away from Buddhism.
Wang married a
Censorate
The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC).
The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the M ...
official, . Xu was a man of integrity, and was later dismissed from his post after disagreements with the
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源),''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德 ...
. The couple were uprooted after Ming fell in 1644, and moved around the south. Although the couple vowed to live and die together, when Wang died of an illness in 1647, Xu lived on to mourn her.
Writing
Wang was a writer and anthologist of
travelogues
Travelogue may refer to:
Genres
* Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling
* Travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...
.
[Xu (1909), "王微常經船載書往來五湖問自傷".] Tina Lu has argued that nature was only the secondary topic of her work, with the primary focus being a, 'landscape of nostalgia,' that Wang used to express her identity as a traveller. She wrote several hundred travelogues. These may have been part of a commercial venture catering to the late Ming travel boom. One of her works, ''Ming shan ji'' (Records of the Famous Mountains), ran to several hundred chapters.
Her poetry appears in the anthology of late Ming-early Qing female poets
''Zhong Xiang Ci''.
Wang's
shi poems were described by
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
commentators as comparable to those of
Li Qingzhao
Li Qingzhao (1084 – ca. 1155), alias Yian Jushi (Chinese: 易安居士) was a Chinese poet and essayist during the Song dynasty. She is considered one of the greatest poets in Chinese history.
Biography
Early life
Li Qingzhao was born in ...
and
Zhu Shuzhen
Zhu Shuzhen (; 1135 – 1180) was a Chinese poet who lived during the 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 So ...
in their beauty and serenity.
References
Notes
Works cited
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External links
Wang Wei in the ''Ming Qing Women's Writings'' Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Wei
1597 births
1647 deaths
17th-century Chinese women writers
17th-century Chinese writers
Ming dynasty courtesans
Chinese travel writers
Chinese women poets
Ming dynasty poets
Poets from Jiangsu
Writers from Yangzhou