Wang Duan was an excellent historian who could out-debate her foster-father, Xu Zongyan, thus gaining for herself the nickname Tiger Duan.The literary works of Wang Duan covered various fields. She was, first and foremost, a prolific poet. Wang Duan died on 1 February 1839, just short of her forty-sixth birth, leaving behind more than 1100 poems.
Background
Wang Duan was born in 1793 to an intellectually accomplished family in Hangzhou. She was one of many talented and educated women of the Qing, particularly in the south, whose talents went largely unrecognized and unused in the male-dominated society.
Education
Her father, Wang Yu decided to pursue a quiet scholarly life at home, teaching his two sons and two daughters after the death of their mother. Later he hired a private teacher for his 'pearl in her father's palm', as cherished daughters were called. After her marriage Duan was taught techniques of composing poems and essay by the famous literator Chen Wenshu.
Religion
She became very religious as a result of the series of shocks within the family and, to extent, the influence of her father-in law. In her last years she dedicated herself to worship, to the study of religious classics and to daily chanting of religious scripts.