Xue Tao was the daughter of a minorgovernment official in Chang'an, which was the Chinese capital during the Tang Dynasty. Her father, Xue Yun was transferred to Chengdu, when she was still little, or possibly before her birth. Her father died while she was young, but it's possible that she had some literary education from him; her adult career also offered her the opportunity to learn from practicing poets. Since the girl's mother did not return to Chang'an, it is possible that they were too poor to do so. Xue was registered with the guild of courtesans and entertainers in Chengdu and in time became well known for her wit and her poetic talent. Her poetry attracted the attention of Wei Gao, the military governor of Xichuan Circuit and she was made his official hostess. In this position she met poets like Yuan Zhen, to whom she was said to have become close; at the very least, this story indicates the charisma of both figures. Certainly, she exchanged poems with Yuan and many other well-known writers of the day, and continued as hostess after Wei's death. When Wu Yuanheng became governor in 807, she presented him with two poems. Wu was so impressed that he asked the Emperor to appoint Xue as an editor in his office. This was an unusual request as Xue was both a woman and a government courtesan. Although Xue was never given the position, she became known as the "female editor". Later "editor" became a euphemism for a courtesan. In later years, Xue was able to live independently in a site outside the city associated with the great poet of an earlier generation, Du Fu. Some sources record that she supported herself as a maker of artisanal paper used for writing poems. A contemporary wrote that she took on the garments of a Daoist adept, signaling a relatively autonomous status within Tang society. Hsueh T'ao, a Venusian crater is named after her.
Poems
Some 450 poems by Xue were gathered in The Brocade River Collection that survived until the 14th century. About 100 of her poems are known nowadays, which is more than of any other Tang dynasty woman. They range widely in tone and topic, giving evidence of a lively intelligence and more than passing acquaintance with the great tradition of earlier Chinese poetry.
