Lady Xu Mu


Lady Xu Mu was a princess of the State of Wey who married Duke Mu of Xu, the ruler of the State of Xǔ. She was the first recorded female poet in Chinese history.

Life

A princess of the Wey state with the clan name Ji, she was the daughter of Wan, Count Zhao of Wey and his wife Xuan Jiang, a daughter of Duke Xi of Qi. She married Duke Mu of Xu and became known as Lady Xu Mu or sometimes the Duchess of Xu.
When Wey was invaded in 660 BC by the Northern Di barbarians, she tried to return to her home state and call for help from other states on the way. However, courtiers from Xu caught up with her and forced her to return to Xu. Nevertheless, her appeals for aid succeeded, and the state of Qi saved Wey from its crisis. The Wey people remembered her for bringing supplies, getting military aid and rebuilding the state.
According to Zuo zhuan, she composed the poem "Speeding Chariot" expressing her profound anxiety about her native state of Wey being destroyed by the Di. The poem is collected in the Classic of Poetry. Two other poems in the collection, "Bamboo Pole" and "Spring Water", have also been attributed to her, although it is not certain if all three poems were actually written by her.