Xue Tao
Encyclopedia
Yu Xuanji
Yu Xuanji , courtesy names Youwei and Huìlan , was a Late Tang Dynasty Chinese poet, from in Chang'an. Her family name, Yu, is relatively rare. Her given name, Xuanji, means something like "Profound Theory" or "Mysterious Principle," and is a technical term in Daoism and Buddhism...
and Li Ye (李冶) was one of the three best-known female Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
poets from the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, though there were many others.
Life
Xue was the daughter of a minor government official in Changan, which was the Chinese capital during the Tang Dynasty. Her father, Xue Yun (薛郧) was transferred to ChengduChengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, when she was still little, or possibly before her birth. Her father died while she was young, but it's possible that she got some literary education from him; her adult career also offered her the opportunity to learn from practicing poets.
Since the girl's mother did not return to Changan, it is possible that they were too poor to do so. Xue was registered with the guild of courtesans and entertainers in Chengdu and in time became well known for her wit and her poetic talent.
Her poetry attracted the attention of Wei Gao
Wei Gao
Wei Gao , courtesy name Chengwu , formally Prince Zhongwu of Nankang , was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty...
, the military governor of Xichuan Circuit (西川, headquartered in modern Chengdu
Chengdu
Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
, Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
) and was made his official hostess. In this position she met poets like Yuan Zhen
Yuan Zhen
Yuan Zhen , courtesy name Weizhi , was a politician of the middle Tang Dynasty, but is more known as an important Chinese writer and poet, particularly for work Yingying's Biography , which was often adapted for other treatments, including operatic and musical ones...
, with whom she was said to have become close; at very least, this story indicates the charisma of both figures. Certainly, she exchanged poems with Yuan and many other well-known writers of the day, and continued as hostess after Wei's death.
In later years, Xue was able to live independently in a site outside the city associated with the great poet of an earlier generation, Du Fu. Some sources record that she supported herself as a maker of artisanal paper used for writing poems. A contemporary wrote that she took on the garments of a 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...
adept, signaling a relatively autonomous status within Tang society.
Some 450 poems by Xue were gathered in The Brocade River Collection that survived until the 14th century. About 100 poems of her are known nowadays, which is more than of any other Tang dynasty woman. They range widely in tone and topic, giving evidence of a lively intelligence and more than passing acquaintance with the great tradition of earlier Chinese poetry.
Hsueh T'ao, a Venusian crater is named after her.