Zheng Mao () was the primary wife of King Cheng of the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou hea ...

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

of ancient China. She is one of 125 women whose biographies are included in the ''

Biographies of Exemplary Women The ''Biographies of Exemplary Women'' () is a book compiled by the Han dynasty scholar Liu Xiang c. 18 BCE. It includes 125 biographical accounts of exemplary women in ancient China, taken from early Chinese histories including '' Chunqiu'', ' ...

'', written by Liu Xiang.

Life

Zheng Mao was born to the Ying clan from the state of

Zheng Zheng may refer to: *Zheng (surname), Chinese surname (鄭, 郑, ''Zhèng'') *Zheng County, former name of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan, China *Guzheng (), a Chinese zither with bridges *Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC), emperor of the Qin Dynasty, ...

, which had fallen into decline after the death of Duke Zhuang. She was sent with the primary wife as a concubine for

King Cheng of Chu King Cheng of Chu (, died 626 BC) was from 671 to 626 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Yun () to King Wen of Chu, and King Cheng was his posthumous title. In 672 BC Xiong Yun's o ...

(ruled. 671–626 BC). After she arrived at the Chu palace, the king looked down on the women's quarters and noticed her not looking up no matter what he offered her. He then made her his principal wife. Both she and his chief minister cautioned against the appointment of his son Shangchen as crown prince. After the king ignored the advice, Shangchen caused the downfall of the minister. After this, the King wanted to appoint a younger son as heir apparent instead, but now Zheng Mao advised against this, predicting civil war. Believing the king suspected her opposition against Shangchen was based on jealousy, she committed suicide. Not long after, Shangchen staged a coup d'etat and forced the King Cheng to commit suicide. Shangchen then ascended the throne as

King Mu of Chu King Mu of Chu (, died 614 BC) was from 625 to 614 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Shangchen () and King Mu was his posthumous title. Prince Shangchen was the son of King Chen ...

Inclusion in the Lienü zhuan

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 included her biography in the ''

''. Zheng Mao's biography is part of Scroll 5, titled ''the Principled and Righteous'' ().

Notes

Work Referenced

External links

Lienu zhuan
University of Virginia E-text {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Mao 7th-century BC Chinese women Suicides in China Zhou dynasty nobility Zheng (state) Chu state people 7th-century BC Chinese people Ancient people who committed suicide