Background
Xian Furen was born in 512 to the chieftain of the Xian tribe of the Li people in Southern China. Her family was hereditary leaders of their tribe, controlling tribes of over 100,000 families.
冼夫
Xian Furen was born in 512 to the chieftain of the Xian tribe of the Li people in Southern China. Her family was hereditary leaders of their tribe, controlling tribes of over 100,000 families.
Xian Furen was a notable leader who successfully defended her tribe against its enemies, eventually earning her title as Lady of Qiaoguo. Her tribe's people preferred to fight with each other. She often tried to prevent them from involvement in wars. In 535, Lady Xian married Feng Pao, a Chinese general, and encouraged an appreciation of Chinese ways among her people. Lady Xian assisted her husband in his duties. She restrained her people and directed them toward observing ritual and law. She also listened to cases together with her husband and made sure that even chieftains were not above the law.
In 548, the Hou Jing rebelled against the Liang dynasty, which had a destructive effect on the whole country. In 550, Li Qianshi, the rebel leader from Gaozhou tried to entice Feng Pao to join the rebellion, but Lady Xian dissuaded him from joining the rebellion. He defeated Li Qianshi's forces, thus helping general Chen Baxian suppress the Hou Jing rebellion. The next ten years, from 548 to 557, were a chaotic period during which the Liang dynasty deteriorated rapidly. The Chen dynasty that Chen Baxian (Emperor Wu, 503-559; r. 557-559) eventually founded did not come into being until 557 and during this vacuum, the Guangdong area was in a state of constant unrest. By then Lady Xian’s husband had died, so she shouldered the responsibility of keeping the area safe and secure.
When Chen Baxian replaced the Liang dynasty with his Chen dynasty, Lady Xian sent her son Feng Pu to the capital accompanied by the leaders of the Yue people to pledge their allegiance to the new Han ruler. Feng Pu was only a child some eight years old at the time but he was nevertheless made governor of Yangchun. Not long afterward, the inspector of Guangzhou rebelled against the Chen throne. He kidnapped Feng Pu and forced him to join him. Lady Xian refused to be blackmailed, however, and set out at the head of the chieftains of the Yue people to attack Guangzhou, defeating the rebels. For her meritorious work, her son was given the title Leader of Court Gentlemen and appointed the governor of Shilong. Lady Xian herself was given the title Leader of Court Gentlemen and Lady Dowager of Shilong and materially rewarded with many ceremonial accouterments such as a carriage with embroidered curtains, a marching band, and ceremonial flags.
Feng Pu died during the late 580s, by which time the Chen dynasty had almost run its course, and the people of Guangdong did not know where to place their allegiance. Several commanderies hailed Lady Xian as their leader and called her the Holy Mother. For her part, she kept the land safe and the people protected during those turbulent years.
In 581, the Northern Zhou minister Yang Jian (541-604) brought that dynasty to an end when he accepted the throne yielded to him by his grandson, renamed the dynasty Sui, and declared himself emperor (Emperor Wen; r. 581-604). Soon afterward, a local man named Wang Zhongxuan rose against Sui. Lady Xian sent her grandson, Feng Xuan, to aid the government troops but he hesitated to advance because he was friendly with one of the rebels. Incensed, Lady Xian had him thrown into jail, sending in his place another grandson, Feng Ang, who defeated the rebels. Riding in full armor, she accompanied an emissary from the Sui emperor on a tour of the commanderies. The leaders of present-day Guangdong and Guangxi all came forward to pay their respects, confirming her position as undisputed leader of the whole area.
Emperor Wen was amazed at Lady Xian’s leadership. He appointed her two grandsons Feng Xuan (despite his previous negligence) and Feng Ang as regional inspectors and elevated her husband posthumously to the rank of Duke of Qiao State so that he might enfeoff Lady Xian. She was then given the title Lady of Qiao State (Qiaoguo Furen) and the staff of a dukedom. In addition, the seal to control the armies of the six regions with permission to act should crises present themselves was bestowed upon her. She died in 602 of old age and was honored with the posthumous name of Lady Chengjing.
Xian Furen was the wife of Feng Pao. Among her children, only Feng Pu was known by name. It is also said that Lady Xian had three grandsons named Feng Hun, Feng Xian, and Feng Ang.