Ye Bian Nu Chu

Background

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

Career

Chu Ye Bian Nu while traveling alone, collided with the carriage of an emissary on official business for Duke Jian (Jian Gong, r. 564-530 B.C.E.) of the small state of Zheng (in present-day Henan Province). Chu Ye Bian Nu extricated herself from a beating by shaming the official for his ungentlemanly behavior of becoming angry as the two people involved in this argument belonged to the same social stratum. Chu Ye Bian Nu pointed out that by bullying her, the official was violating the teachings of old. The official was impressed by this woman that he asked her to go with him to Zheng, but she declined, saying she was already married.

Achievements

• Chu Ye Bian Nu was known as one of the most outstanding characters of Chinese folklore.

Personality

Chu Ye Bian Nu was known as a brave woman who could stand up for herself.

Connections

Chu Ye Bian Nu married into the Zhao family and was possibly the wife of Zhao Qujing, a member of the Chu aristocracy.

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
• The Book of Songs
  1937
• The Position of Woman in Early China According to the Lieh Nu Chuan, The Biographies of Chinese Women.
  1971