Jie Rumu Wei

Background

There is no exact information about the date and the place of her birth.

Career

Wei Jie Rumu was a nurse who protected the last royal son of the state of Wei (in present-day Shanxi Province) after invaders from the state of Qin (present-day Shaanxi Province) had put the king and his other sons to death. Rather than accept a large monetary reward, she risked the punitive extermination of her own family to flee with the remaining prince. A turncoat Wei minister revealed her hiding place to the Qin, and although she covered the child with her own body in an attempt to protect him they were both killed, at least a dozen arrows piercing her body. Impressed with her loyalty and maternal instincts, the Qin king rewarded her brother with money and gave her a lavish burial.

Achievements

• Wei Jie Rumu was known as one of the famous characters in Chinese folklore.

Personality

It was said that Wei Jie Rumu's kindness came from a good conscience, while she herself is quoted as saying that “all who nourish men’s children have a duty to keep them alive and not to kill them”.

References

• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. - 618 C.E This new volume of the "Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women" spans more than 2,000 years from antiquity to the early seventh century. It recovers the stories of more than 200 women, nearly all of them unknown in the West.
  1998