"Four Great Talented Women" in Chinese History: Each with a different fate, heartbreaking to hear

Since ancient times, China has had countless talented men and beautiful women, but do you know what other famous talented women there have been in history?

1. Cai Wenji

Her real name is Thai Diem, also read as Sai Diem, courtesy name Chieu Co, but later her name was the same as Tu Ma Chieu, so later generations changed it to Van Co. She was one of the first female writers in China and the only female poet among the famous writers of the Jian'an period, under Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie.

During her lifetime, Cai Wenji completed the 400-volume "Continued Han Shu", filling in the gaps left by the "18 Hu Horn Beats", which moved and touched people's hearts, and "Bi phan thi", a long autobiographical poem in five-word form, the first in the history of East Asian poetry.

Cai Wenji's father was a famous scholar in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was good at literature, mathematics, astronomy, and music. Cai Wenji's life was full of ups and downs and sorrow.

During the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, society was in turmoil. At first, Cai Wenji married Wei Zhongdao, but because she had no children and her husband died, she returned to her mother's home. Then the Huns invaded. Because of her outstanding appearance and extraordinary knowledge, she was captured and taken to the Southern Huns and married to the Hun king, Zuo Xianwang. She endured all the suffering of a life of a foreign race, a foreign land, and a foreign custom, and gave birth to two sons.

12 years later, Cao Cao unified the North, thinking of his teacher Thai Ung's teachings to him, he used a lot of gold to redeem Thai Van Co. Thai Van Co suffered all her life, "Returning to the homeland" and "Mother and child reunion" were not complete.

In the 12th year of Jian'an (207), because Cao Cao knew that Cai Wenji's father was Cai Yong, he felt sad that Cai Yong had no heir, so he arranged for her to remarry a fellow villager, Chen Liu Dong Si, and Wenji's return to Han also became a famous story in China.

Later, Dong Tu became a commander, and his crime was punishable by death. Cai Wenji personally pleaded with Cao Cao. It was a harsh winter, and Cao Cao was entertaining officials, famous people, and envoys from far away. Kneeling down and confessing his crime, his words were clear, his decree was sorrowful, and his expression changed. Finally, Cao Cao agreed to pardon Dong Tu's death sentence.

2. Ly Thanh Chieu

Li Qingzhao was from Jinan, Shandong Province. She was the daughter of scholar and essayist Li Gefei, and her mother was also well-versed in literature. Li Qingzhao had absorbed a good culture from her parents since she was young. Since she was a young girl, she had been writing poetry, and her poems were famous. Most of her poems were about simple, lively and interesting life, with clear rhymes and natural emotions in beautiful and romantic landscapes.

At the age of 18, she married the imperial scholar Zhao Mingcheng (1081-1129), a famous petrologist and son of Prime Minister Zhao Ding. It can be said that this was the best marriage in the Northern Song Dynasty. At first, she and her husband devoted themselves to researching, collecting, and editing calligraphy, paintings, and stonework, loving each other with one heart.

In the midst of wealth and power, whenever they had free time from official duties, the couple would compose poems and essays together, collect and edit books, paintings, and writings on stones and fields... Later, Trieu Minh Thanh went to work as an official far away and in that situation, Ly Thanh Chieu felt lonely and bored, so she wrote many poems describing separation, longing, and wishing for a life of endless love. Those poems also made her husband jealous because they were so full of emotion.

Then, the peaceful and beautiful life was destroyed by war. In the Jingkang year (1127) of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army occupied Kaifeng, capturing both Song emperors, the retired emperors Song Huizong and Song Qinzong. The Yellow River fell into the hands of the Jin army one after another. Many officials in the Song Dynasty court had to flee south. She and her husband also fled south to the Huai River. During the war, Li Qingzhao lost 15 carts of "gold, stone, calligraphy and painting" that she and her husband had saved up for many years to collect.

During the chaos, Trieu Minh Thanh was ordered to be the governor of Hunan, but on the way to take office, she caught a cold and died in Kien Khang (now Nanjing). Her husband fell ill and died, and the Jin army continued to invade, forcing her and the Song Dynasty court to wander from place to place. Hang Chau, Viet Chau, Dai Chau, Kim Hoa... were the regions she had experienced one after another, living alone in a lonely and miserable life. From then on, life began to be miserable, a woman on a long journey, wandering, causing her spirit to increasingly collapse with the passing of the moon, so she wrote many poems expressing her sadness in this gloomy context.

3. Shangguan Wan'er

Not only is she a talented woman in politics, Thuong Quan Uyen Nhi also has very surprising secrets about her private life.

Shangguan Wan'er, also known as Shangguan Zhaorong, was a female official, poet, and imperial concubine of the Tang Dynasty, from Shaanzhou, Shaan County (now part of Sanmenxia, Henan). She came from a prominent family, the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi, prime minister during the Tang Gaozong period, and her grandfather Shangguan Hong, who served as the palace supervisor of Jiangdu during the Sui Dynasty.

Shangguan Wan'er was a person who was highly respected and trusted by Empress Wu Zetian. Although she was not clearly appointed, in reality, the power in Wan'er's hands was equivalent to that of a "female prime minister". Wan'er was a person of excellent talent, naturally intelligent, and profound knowledge. But there was a terrible secret hidden under that perfect cover: she was extremely scheming and cunning.

Like other figures who had risen to the highest positions of power, Shangguan Wan'er also had a very miserable origin. Because her grandfather Shangguan Yi had sided with the wrong political party, in 664 her entire family was sentenced to death, including her father. At this time, she had just been born and had to follow her mother into the palace and go to Yi Ting to become a servant.

Her entire childhood was full of hardship and tears, following her mother as a servant, but in return, she was nurtured and nurtured by her mother, so she diligently studied literature and read poetry. Not only did she know how to recite poetry, she was also proficient in literature, well-versed in everything, and smarter than others. Her reputation spread far and wide. In the second year of Nghi Phuong - 677, she was summoned to the palace by Wu Zetian and tested on the spot for her literary talent. When given a topic, she quickly wrote it all very fluently, with clear ideas, a refined and ornate writing style, and elegant language.

Shangguan Wan'er became the "queen without a crown" in the prosperous Tang Dynasty during the turbulent period. These things are enough to show Shangguan Wan'er's intelligence, spirit, talent, ... It was because of these things that Shangguan Wan'er shuttled between important officials in the court. She was named "Shangguan". Later, because King Li Longji launched the Tang Long coup, Shangguan Wan'er and Empress Wei were killed at the same time.

Phụ nữ sở hữu trán rộng được người xưa xem là "hiếm có khó tìm", vì sao? Thảo Mai17:17:04 06/01/2025Mỗi người đều có một chuẩn mực riêng về cái đẹp, và dù trải qua hàng ngàn năm, quan niệm thẩm mỹ cũng như cách diễn giải về cái đẹp liên tục thay đổi, nhưng sự theo đuổi vẻ đẹp vẫn luôn trường tồn.