Why are the three major female poets in the Tang poetry circle ending so tragically?

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-07

"Three divas": Li Ye, Xue Tao, Yu Xuanji, their names are little known, but in the poetry of the Tang Dynasty in China, their status cannot be ignored either. I used to devote myself to the study of Tang poetry, but I have always neglected the female poets of the Tang Dynasty.

Their lives are full of struggle and sorrow, like duckweed, unable to find a stable foundation, and can only be attacked by wind and rain. Despite this, they still wrote many excellent works, which gave people a deeper understanding and appreciation of the poetry of the Tang Dynasty.

Their talent and tenacity deserve our respect and remembrance.

Although Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, fell many times, it was able to turn the corner in danger and continue the rule of the Li family each time. However, every time the emperor was returned, some people were taken away, including the famous poetess Li Ye.

According to the research of scholar Chen Shangjun, it may be that Zhu Zhu took a fancy to Li Ye's poetic talent during his reign as emperor and asked her to write poems to praise the new dynasty. This poem praising the new dynasty reached Tang Dezong's ears, so he wanted to hold Li Ye responsible.

Tang Dezong summoned Li Ye to defend himself, but still felt unforgivable, so he put her to death. This shows that in the midst of political upheaval, a weak female poet ended up falling victim to the impotence of the emperor.

Li Ye, whose name is Jilan, lived in Wuxing (now Huzhou, Zhejiang), and was known as "Wucheng Female Taoist". His origin and age are unknown, but he was born between 725 and 740 and must have been between 45 and 60 years old at the time of his death.

When she was six or seven years old, her father asked her to sing roses, and the last two sentences "After a long time, her mind is chaotic", which made her father unhappy, thinking that she would learn badly.

As for the reason why she entered the Tao, some say that her father was worried that she would lose her wife's behavior and sent her to the Taoist temple, and some say that she had "lost her way" in adulthood. Most of the female Taoist priests in the Tang Dynasty entered the Tao because of their loss of women or financial difficulties, but there were also those who entered the Tao because of their faith.

Li Ye is both talented and good-looking, and has good friends with celebrities Lu Yu, Zhu Fang and others, and likes to participate in literati gatherings. She has a particularly good relationship with Lu Yu, there is a poem written that when Lu Yu visited her, she was overjoyed, and when her illness recovered slightly, she drank and recited poems with friends.

Although Li Ye is keen on gathering, her chastity is still questioned, and some people think that her poetic style is "swinging". In fact, when she gathers with celebrities, she is very open-minded, and even open-mouthed.

But it can't be said that her poetry style is lewd, for example, she once wrote a poem about the relationship between husband and wife, which deeply moved Liu Changqing. Tang Dezong once summoned her to the palace, but because she was not suitable for court life, she died soon after.

Xue Tao, whose name is Hongdu, was a famous female poet in the Tang Dynasty. It is rumored that when she was ** years old, she showed her talent and wrote poems casually, which is amazing. However, her father did not like this talent of hers, as he was afraid that she would fall into the world of men in the future.

After the death of her father, Xue Tao's life became more difficult, but she still insisted on her talent. She met Wei Gao at the age of fifteen, who admired her talent and recruited her into the music club.

Xue Tao became a prostitute in Wei Gao's shogunate, and her talent was more recognized. However, her identity and status also caused her distress and pain.

She has struggled all her life to survive, and although her talent has been recognized, her fate has never changed.

Xue Tao: A humble life, she eventually became the most powerful female poet in the Tang Dynasty. Her genius and creation made first-class poets such as Bai Juyi and Wang Jian sing and harmonize with her. She later liked the Taoist robe, which was convenient for public activities.

Although the male elite admires her on the surface, they do not identify with a low-level woman who has been reduced to a happy membership. She understood her situation and did not dare to express it easily. The only time she might be tempted was Yuan Zhen, who was 10 years younger than her.

Later, Yuan Zhi returned to Chang'an and did not dare to take Xue Tao to return with him, so he had to send poems to convey his lovesickness. Legend has it that Yuan Zhi later intended to take Xue Tao to Chang'an, but after meeting the younger Liu Caichun, he forgot about Xue Tao.

Xue Tao is well aware of her identity and the law that the noble and the low do not intermarry, but she still wants to invest in this relationship, even if it is only occasionally projecting her heart. And Yuan Zhen didn't dare to face this relationship later.

He was secretive about this relationship, because he already had Yuan Pei Wei Cong at that time. All the good memories and unbearable realities eventually become "when the flowers bloom and fall". Xue Tao faced his aging and emaciation alone, and was about 63 years old when he died.

Portrait of Yu Xuanji: Xian Yiguan** 36 years later, the fish Xuanji**handmaid Lu Qiao** shocked the Tang Dynasty. Yu Xuanji, a 25-year-old female Taoist priest, committed this crime.

Huang Fumei recorded the case in detail in "Sanshui Xiaomu". On the night of the crime, Yu Xuanji went out happily, and when he left, he told the maid Lu Qiao to take care of her home.

However, Lu Qiao did not do so, causing Yu Xuanji to mistakenly believe that she had an affair with the guest. Yu Xuanji was furious, took off her green clothes, and tortured her hundreds of times. Although Lu Qiao vigorously denied it, he was still killed by Yu Xuanji's poisonous hands in the end.

Yu Xuanji was so confused that he buried Lu Qiao's body under the wisteria flowers in the backyard. However, the matter did not end there, and Midori's body was eventually found. Yu Xuanji was convicted of killing a servant girl without permission, and the crime was not to death, but because of Wen Zhang's harsh punishment, he was finally sentenced to death.

Yu Xuanji in prison wrote two of the most pure poems in the late Tang Dynasty: "The bright moon shines on the secluded gap, and the breeze opens the short placket." This is a reflection of her open-mindedness, and despite her young age, she has long been down-to-earth.

This case attracted widespread attention in the Tang Dynasty, making Yu Xuanji the last famous female poet in the Tang Dynasty.

Yu Xuanji: The Tang Dynasty's "female Taoist" and "** Yu Xuanji, a woman from an ordinary family, is loved for her intelligence and work in rhythm.

However, in the eyes of the people at the time, she was a ** and prostitute wearing a woman's uniform, a person who violated etiquette and customs. Her love affair with Jinshi Li Yi was restricted by the Tang Dynasty's strict hierarchical intermarriage system, and was eventually abandoned.

However, the experience of Yu Xuan Ji is not so simple. She used to be a lover, a woman with deep affection, and wrote many affectionate lovesick poems to her husband.

Her temperament has changed drastically, stemming from the barrier of social identity and emotional wounds. In the end, she chose to be a female Taoist priest, Xianyiguan is the daughter of Tang Xuanzong, Princess Xianyi lived after becoming a monk, and since then, the noble female relatives in Chang'an City have lived in this view.

Although some people think that she is a ** and a prostitute, she still sticks to her beliefs and choices.

The stills of "The Heroic Girl of the Tang Dynasty" depict the exchanges between the Tang Dynasty female poet Yu Xuanji and literati and celebrities. She has poems and sings with famous poets such as Wen Tingyun and Li Ying, although later generations have made her a pair with Wen Tingyun, but there is no evidence to support it.

is Li Ying, who may be more favored by Yu Xuanji. Yu Xuanji once wrote a poem to him, comparing himself to a fairy who actively pursued, but Li Ying didn't seem to respond. This broke her heart, and she later wrote large-scale poems to the literati and celebrities she interacted with, showing her free thoughts.

Her poetry was widely recognized after the Yuan Dynasty, and she was known as the "poet saint among talented women" and was a female poet saint. However, her fate was not smooth, and she was engulfed by jealousy, suspicion, and rage, and accidentally killed her servant girl Lu Qiao, leaving her unclean back.

This is the last famous female poet of the Tang Dynasty, leaving us with a sad female image.

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