The Chinese scholar Ban Zhao
Image of Ban Zhao by Shangguan Zhou (上官周, b. 1665)
This depicts the historian Ban Zhao (班昭).
Ban Gu, 1st-century Chinese poet, historian, and compiler of the Book of Han
Ban Chao
(The Chinese book of etiquette and conduct for women and g...)
The Chinese book of etiquette and conduct for women and girls, by Lady Tsaoб which was translated from the Chinese by Mrs. S. L. Baldwin in 1900.
https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-etiquette-conduct-entitled-Instruction/dp/B003OCQUUA/?tag=2022091-20
班昭
historian philosopher politician writer
Ban Zhao was born in 45, in Anling, near modern Xianyang, Shaanxi province. Ban Zhao was the daughter of the famous historian Ban Biao and younger of 2 sisters of the general Ban Chao and of historian Ban Gu. She was also the grandniece of the notable scholar and poet Consort Ban.
Ban Zhao was extremely well-educated in Confucian classics and in the histories. She composed sixteen literary works that were gathered in the three-volume Collected Works of Ban Zhao (Ban Zhao ji) by her daughter-in-law née Ding.
After her brother Ban Gu was imprisoned and died in 92 because of his association with the family of Empress Dowager Dou, Ban Zhao helped finish the work by making up for the missing part of the Babiao (八表 Eight Tables). She added the genealogy of the mother of the emperor, providing much information which was not usually kept. Later, Ma Xu added a treatise on astronomy, making Hanshu a complete work.
Ban Zhao also wrote the Lessons for Women. This treatise on the education of women was dedicated to the daughters in Ban Zhao's family but was circulated immediately at court. It was popular for centuries in China as a guide for women's conduct.
She taught Empress Deng Sui and members of the court in the royal library, which gained her political influence. The Empress and concubines gave her the title Gifted one and the empress made her a Lady-in-waiting. As the Empress became regent for the infant Emperor Shang of Han, she often sought the advice of Ban Zhao. In gratitude, the Empress gave both Ban Zhao's sons appointments as officials. Ban Zhao was also a librarian at court, supervising the editorial labors of staff of assistants and training other scholars in her work. In this capacity, she rearranged and enlarged the Biographies of Eminent Women by Liu Xiang.
In 113, Ban Zhao's son Cao Cheng was appointed an official in Chenliu Commandery. Ban accompanied him to Chenliu and wrote about the journey in Dong Zheng Fu 東征賦), which has survived.
(The Chinese book of etiquette and conduct for women and g...)
Ban Zhao had an intention to set moral standards for women, that is why she wrote Precepts for Women. However, she was credited with justifying the right of women to be educated.
Ban Zhao was a woman of very wide learning. She was extremely erudite, her learning extending to literature, history, ethics, and philology.
Ban Zhao married a local resident named Cao Shishu, but her husband died when she was still young. She never remarried, instead devoting her life to scholarship. She had two sons.
Ban Biao was a Chinese historian, and an official born in what is now Xianyang, Shaanxi during the Han Dynasty.
Ban Gu was a Chinese historian, politician, and poet best known for his part in compiling the Book of Han, the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of fu, a major literary form, part prose and part poetry, which is particularly associated with the Han era.
Ban Chao was a Chinese military general of the Eastern Han Dynasty. He also led Han forces for over 30 years in the war against the Xiongnu and secured Han control over the Tarim Basin region. He was awarded the title "Protector General of the Western Regions" by the Han government for his efforts in protecting and governing the regions.
Ban Jieyu was a Chinese scholar and poet during the Western Han Dynasty, who is said to have lived from 48 B.C. to 6 B.C.
Ban Yong was an important general of the mid-Later Han period.
