Princess Wei Guafuren (also known as The Widow of Wei) had a tragic life. Her life is still largely unknown.[1] If it hadn’t been for the beautiful and sad poem that she had composed, she would have been entirely forgotten in history.[2] Princess Wei Guafuren was engaged to the Duke of Wei.[3] Once she arrived, her betrothed died before she could marry him.[4] Her brother-in-law tried to marry her, but she chose a life of widowhood.[5] Princess Wei Guafuren has often been praised for being loyal and steadfast in her widowhood.[6]
Princess Wei Guafuren was born during the Spring and Autumn period (which lasted from 771 to 453 B.C.E.).[7] During this period, Chinese states were declaring their own independence from the ruling Zhou Dynasty to form their own dynasties.[8] Her name is unknown. Wei was the state where she lived during her widowhood.[9] She was a Princess of the State of Qi (in modern-day Shandong Province).[10] Her father was the Duke of Qi.[11] Historians are still trying to determine which Duke of Qi he was.[12]
Princess Wei Guafuren was given in marriage to the Duke of Wei.[13] Some historians believe he was Duke Xuan of Wei, but his name is still heavily disputed.[14] Once she arrived in the State of Wei, her bridegroom died.[15] Even though she did not officially have the opportunity to marry him through a ceremony, women at the time were considered married upon their betrothal.[16] Princess Wei Guafuren was advised to return home, but she refused.[17] Instead, she stayed in Wei and began her three years of mourning for her husband.[18]
During Princess Wei Guafuren’s three years of mourning for her late husband, she received a marriage proposal from her brother-in-law, the new Duke of Wei.[19] She refused his proposal.[20] Her brother-in-law asked her brothers in Qi to persuade her to marry.[21] However, she continued to refuse and vowed to remain faithful to her late husband.[22] She composed “Ode 26”[23] in The Book of Songs. It goes:
“My heart is not a stone;
It cannot be rolled
My heart is not a mat;
It cannot be folded away.
…
My sad heart is consumed, I am harassed
By a small host of men.
…
Sorrow clings to me
Like an unwashed dress.
In the still of the night, I brood upon it
Long to take wing and to fly away.”[24]
It is unknown when Princess Wei Guafuren died.[25] Even though Princess Wei Guafuren led a tragic life, she has often been seen as a model of a “chaste and obedient”[26] wife. She has been praised “for not violating her widowhood.”[27] Princess Wei Guafuren’s poetry has also moved many readers.[28] Her poem teaches readers that “suffering hardship without complaint and enduring indignities without resorting to what is improper that one can finally achieve one’s goals”[29]. Thus, the life lessons in Princess Wei Guafuren’s poem will continue to inspire and teach many generations.[30]
Sources:
Cook, C. A. (2015). “The Widow of Wei”. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. – 618 C.E. (L. X. H. Lee, Ed.; A. D. Stefanowska, Ed.; S. Wiles, Ed.). NY: Routledge. pp. 81-82.
Eno, R. (2010). 1.7. Spring and Autumn China (771-453). Indiana University, PDF.
Liu, X., Kinney, A. B. (2014). Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü Zhuan of Liu Xiang. United Kingdom: Columbia University Press.
Waley, A. (1937; 1969). The Book of Songs. London: George Allen & Unwin.
[1] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[2] Cook, 2015
[3] Cook, 2015
[4] Cook, 2015
[5] Cook, 2015
[6] Cook, 2015
[7] Eno, 2010
[8] Eno, 2010
[9] Cook, 2015
[10] Cook, 2015
[11] Cook, 2015
[12] Cook, 2015
[13] Cook, 2015
[14] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[15] Cook, 2015
[16] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[17] Cook, 2015
[18] Cook, 2015
[19] Cook, 2015
[20] Cook, 2015
[21] Cook, 2015
[22] Cook, 2015
[23] Cook, 2015, p. 82
[24] Waley, 1937; 1969, p. 71; Cook, 2015, p. 82
[25] Cook, 2015
[26] Cook, 2015, p. 82
[27] Cook, 2015, p. 82
[28] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[29] Liu & Kinney, 2014, p. 70
[30] Liu & Kinney, 2014
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