Xie Daoyun

Xie Daoyun
1772 drawing of Xie Daoyun.
Spouse	Wang Yinzhi ( vương ngưng chi )
Parent	Xie Yi ( tạ dịch )
Relatives	Wang Xizhi(father-in-law) Xie Xuan(brother) Xie An(uncle)

Xie Daoyun( Tạ Đạo Uẩn, before 340-after 399) was a Chinese poet, writer, scholar, calligrapher and debater of theEastern Jin Dynasty.

Family

Born inYangxia County,Henan,Daoyun belonged to the Xie clan and was a sister of the generalXie Xuan.Though her mother is unknown, it is known that she gave birth to five more children. She was also the favourite niece of prime-ministerXie An.There wereDaoistandConfucianistinfluences 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 ofHuan Xuan.

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 toJiangzhou,when he became a regional inspector. WhenSun Enled a rebellion, Wang 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 toKuaijiand lived out her days in the Wang household.

Legacy

TheBook of Jinhas a detailed biography of her. This book states that her work was popular with her contemporaries. She was seen as a symbol of female talent during her time and during later dynasties. TheThree Character Classictells her story and aMing Dynastymusical composition is all about the gatherings of Xie Daoyun and Xie An.

Bibliography

• Lily Xiao Hong Lee; A. D. Stefanowska (2007).Biographical dictionary of Chinese women: antiquity through Sui, 1600 B.C.E.-618 C.E.M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
• Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2017).Historical Dictionary of Medieval China(2nd ed.).Lanham, Maryland;New York City;London:Rowman & Littlefield.