Hi everyone, I’m Ally
Ancient Chinese ladies are not only beautiful, but also talented
You might have heard about the list of the most beautiful women in history
but do you know who are the most talented women in Chinese history?
I am going to talk about the four most influential female scholars
but before that I want to clear up a commonly mistranslated Chinese phrase for everyone
This phrase “ 女子無才便是德 ” was mistranslated as “Women without literary or artistic talent is virtuous”
And therefore it was frequently used in modern day China as evidence of how ancient feudal Chinese society is against women from getting education
The truth is actually the opposite
The complete sentence is “ 男子有德便是才，女子無才便是德 ”
and it means “Men’s talent lies in his virtue, women’s virtue lies in her not showing off her talent”
It promotes humility, one of the most cherished qualities in ancient China
It also implies a fundamental principle which is the relationship between men and women
According to Taoism, men are yang, and women are yin, the two properties together can create a harmonious life
It doesn’t work if both are trying to be yin or both wanting to be yang
This could create conflicts or a chaotic household
So it makes sense for women to draw back a little and not to compete with the husband
Ultimately it’s not about who wins in a marriage, but how to balance and support each other
That’s a true wisdom from ancient China that still applies today
So now we are clear, let’s get into the list of female scholars
Li Qingzhao was a Chinese writer and poet in the Song dynasty
She is considered as one of the greatest female poets in Chinese history
She was born to a family of scholar-officials
The family had a large collection of books, and Li was able to receive comprehensive education in her childhood
Before she got married, her poetry was already well known within elite circles
In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, with whom she shared interests in collecting inscriptions and calligraphy and lived happily together
But in 1127, The Northern Song capital of Kaifeng fell during the Jin–Song wars
Their house was burned and the couple fled to Nanjing, where they lived for a year
And Zhao died the next year. The death of her husband was a cruel stroke from which Li never recovered
but she kept working on completing her husband's unfinished work, Jīn Shí Lù ( 金石錄 ) and published it
Only around a hundred of her poems are known to survive
but there are so many famous lines, that most educated Chinese people know them by heart
Cai Yan, courtesy name Wenji, was a poet and musician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China
Her life was turbulent to say the least. She was married to Wei Zhongdao ( 衛仲道 ) in year 192 but her husband died shortly after their marriage
Then China entered a period of chaos
the Xiongnu nomads intruded into Han territory, captured Cai, and took her back as a prisoner to the northern lands
During her captivity, she was forced to marry the Xiongnu chieftain and had two sons
12 years later, the Han Chancellor, Cao Cao, paid a heavy ransom in the name of Cai's father for her release
After Cai was freed, she returned to her homeland but left her children behind in Xiongnu territory
Her return to Han territory has been the subject of numerous paintings, novels, and plays
She wrote a famous guqin piece and two poems both named "Poem of Sorrow and Anger" which paralleled her hard life
Zhuo Wenjun was a Chinese poet of the Western Han dynasty
Born into a wealthy family, Zhuo was well-educated and especially good at poetry and music
She was married at 16, but returned to her parents' home a few years later after her husband died
One day a poor poet Sima Xiangru visited her house
then won her heart by playing guqin to her. She later on ran away to be together with Sima
No matter how passionate their love was at first, Sima gradually drifted apart from Zhuo and planned on getting a concubine
Upon hearing the news, Zhuo wrote a few poems and won her husband's love back with her sincere poetry
Ban Zhao, courtesy name Huiban, was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician of the Eastern Han Dynasty
In my humble opinion, she is the most influential female scholar in Chinese history
At age fourteen, Ban Zhao married a local resident named Cao Shishu
Her husband died when she was still young. She never remarried, instead devoted her life to scholarship
Ban Zhao was the first known female Chinese historian
She contributed greatly to the completion and transmission of The Book of Han, after the death of her father and older brother
And this makes her the only female to have been involved in the writing of The Orthodox Histories of China ( 二十四史 )
She also wrote Lessons for Women (女誡) , which became one of the Four Books for Women
and influenced and shaped women's conduct and thinking for the next 2,000 years
Emperor He of Han invited her into the palace many times to teach Empress Deng and members of the court in the royal library
and the empress even made her a Lady-in-waiting
When Ban Zhao died, Empress Deng mourned her death
It meant a great deal when a member of the royal family mourn a commoner’s passing
Ban Zhao earned her respect and left a great legacy behind
These ladies endured a great deal of hardships and yet achieved so much in life
Chinese women had great wisdom indeed, the opposite of what people might think
Interesting enough, in the book Lessons for Women, Ban Zhao actually advocated for women’s education
Ancient Chinese cherished her philosophy and it influenced all the great female scholars who came after her in one way or another
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I’ll be making more videos on traditional Chinese culture, beauty, and fashion See you next time!