Xie Daoyun was a Chinese poet, writer, scholar, calligrapher and debater of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Family

She belonged to the Xie clan from what is now Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

 and was a sister of the general Xie Xuan

Xie Xuan

Xie Xuan , courtesy name Youdu , formally Duke Xianwu of Kangle , was a Jin Dynasty general who is best known for repelling the Former Qin army at the Battle of Fei River, preventing the Former Qin emperor Fu Jiān from destroying Jin and uniting China.- Early career :Xie Xuan's father Xie Yi was...

. Though her mother is unknown, it is known that she gave birth to five more children. She was also the favourite niece of prime-minister Xie An

Xie An

200px|right|thumb|Statue of xie anXie An , courtesy name Anshi , formally Duke Wenjing of Luling , was a Jin Dynasty statesman who, despite his lack of military ability, led Jin through a major crisis—attacks by Former Qin...

. There were Daoist

Taoism

Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...

 and Confucianist

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

 influences in her work.

Life

Her uncle Xie An enjoyed spending time with his nieces and nephews and would quiz them on literature and philosophy. She outperformed her siblings and cousins during the tests her uncle set. Later, she would defend her uncle against the criticism of Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan

Huan Xuan , courtesy name Jingdao , nickname Lingbao , formally Emperor Wudao of Chu , was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and declared his own state of Chu in 403, but was defeated by an uprising led by the general Liu Yu in 404 and killed...

.

She married Wang Ningzhi, son of a famous calligrapher. Despite being displeased with him, they still had several children together. The Wang family had debates at their house and she was undefeated at those.

Xie Daoyun and her children accompanied Wang Ningzhi to Jiangzhou

Jiangxi

' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

, when he became a regional inspector. When Sun En led a rebellion, he promised divine intervention. Since none came, he and their sons were killed by rebels. Xie Daoyun and her maids then went to meet the rebels. She is said to have killed several before being taken prisoner. When the rebel leader Sun En planned to kill her grandson as well, she told him to kill her first. After this, he spared the boy's life.

Xie Daoyun returned to Kuaiji

Shaoxing

Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...

 and lived out her days in the Wang household.

Legacy

The Book of Jin

Book of Jin

The Book of Jin is one of the official Chinese historical works. It covers the history of Jin Dynasty from 265 to 420, which written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Tang Dynasty, with the lead editor being the Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, drawing mostly from the official...

 has a biography of her. This book states that her work was popular with her contemporaries. Both Daoism and Confucianism. She was seen as a symbol of female talent during her time and during later dynasties. The Three Character Classic

Three Character Classic

The Three Character Classic, Trimetric Classic or San Zi Jing is one of the Chinese classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and attributed to Wang Yinglin during the Song Dynasty...

 tells her story and a Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

musical composition is about the gatherings of Xie Daoyun and Xie An.