Xuanwen Jun was born in 283. However, her native place is not known, but she may have been from one of the northern provinces. Xuanwen Jun was quite young when her mother died, and she was raised by her father, who appears not to have remarried. Xuanwen Jun's family had for generations been Confucian scholars.
Xuanwen Jun's father taught her the pronunciations and meanings of the text Zhou guan. Her father also told her that knowledge of Zhou guan was a family specialty that was passed from generation to generation.
Xuanwen Jun and her husband fled to the area east of Mount Taishan in present-day Shandong Province when Shi Jilong occupied her homeland. After reaching Jizhou (present-day Hebei Province) they lived under the protection of Cheng Anshou, a wealthy man who was kind enough to support them and give them protection. As Xuanwen Jun's son was still a child, she taught him at night. Wei Cheng completed his studies and became well known, eventually becoming an official in the government of Fu Jian, third ruler of the Former Qin dynasty.
Fu Jian, a non-Han of Di nationality, nevertheless admired Chinese culture, and especially the teachings of Confucius, and did much to promote it in his domain. He ordered that a lecture hall be established in Xuanwen Jun’s home and 120 students were assigned to study under her. She sat within a red gauze curtain when she taught and was given the title Lady Xuanwen. Lady Song was one of two women credited with passing on the Confucian classics. In later ages, scholars of women’s learning have often compared Lady Song with the Eastern Han scholar Ban Zhao. However, the Qing dynasty female scholar Li Wanfang considered Lady Song superior.
Xuanwen Jun was held up as a role model of both a wise mother and a learned woman.
Quotes from others about the person
Of all women, from earliest antiquity, she was the most outstanding. We should worship her and never forget her.
There is no exact information about Xuanwen Jun's husband. She had a son named Wei Cheng.
