Queen Jiang of Chu was Queen to King Zhao of Chu. Queen Jiang of Chu has been famous for preferring to drown in a flood rather than be accused of “lack of chastity.” [1] Queen Jiang of Chu’s story has often been praised by Confucian scholars.[2] They praised her for her chastity.[3] Today, many feminist scholars have often been repulsed by Queen Jiang of Chu’s story and have viewed her death as “extreme.” [4] Yet, Queen Jiang of Chu was once seen as a virtuous Queen.[5]
Queen Jiang of Chu was born in the early fifth century B.C.E.[6] She lived during the Spring and Autumn period, which lasted from 771 to 453 B.C.E. During this period, Chinese states were declaring their own independence from the ruling Zhou Dynasty to form their own dynasties.[7] Her personal name is unknown.[8] She was from the Jiang clan.[9] She was the daughter of the Marquis of Qi (modern-day Shandong Province).[10]
Lady Jiang married King Zhao of Chu (r. 515-489 B.C.E.). She became Queen of Chu. Her mother-in-law was Queen Bo Ying. One day, King Zhao of Chu went on a pleasure trip. Before he left, he settled her in a pavilion next to a river.[11] When King Zhao of Chu heard that the river was going to flood and that Queen Jiang of Chu was in danger, he sent an official to retrieve her.[12] However, King Zhao of Chu forgot to give the official an imperial tally to let his wife know that it was an order sent by him.[13]
When the official tried to retrieve Queen Jiang of Chu, she refused to come with him because he did not have the imperial tally in his hand.[14] The official persisted, but she still refused.[15] She said that she would rather die than violate her husband’s order.[16] She would die for righteousness.[17] She said, “The brave person does not fear to die.” [18] Before the official could return to the pavilion with the imperial seals, Queen Jiang of Chu drowned in the flood.[19] King Zhao of Chu admired his wife’s bravery to die in the flood.[20] He praised Queen Jiang of Chu’s death as “a rule of chastity.” [21]
Queen Jiang of Chu has often been eulogized for centuries for following “the rules of wifehood.” [22] Today, her story of self-sacrifice has been unappealing to modern-day feminists.[23] They find her act of chastity to be repulsive and “extreme.” [24] Yet, in ancient China, she has been praised for her chastity. Ancient chroniclers have called her “Chaste Jiang.” [25] In Biographies of Eminent Women, Queen Jiang of Chu’s biography has been categorized under “Biography of the Chaste and Obedient.” [26]
Sources:
Cook, C. A. (2015). “Pure Jiang, Wife of King Zhao of Chu”. 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. 59-60.
Eno, R. (2010). 1.7. Spring and Autumn China (771-453). Indiana University, PDF.
O’Hara, A. R. (1978). “The Biographies of Chinese Women.” The Position of Woman in Early China: According to the Hieh Nü Chuan. Taiwan: Mei Ya Publications. pp. 102-127.
Liu, X., Kinney, A. B. (2014). Exemplary Women of Early China: The Lienü Zhuan of Liu Xiang. United Kingdom: Columbia University Press.
[1] Cook, 2015, p. 59
[2] Cook, 2015
[3] Cook, 2015
[4] Cook, 2015, p. 59
[5] Cook, 2015
[6] Cook, 2015
[7] Eno, 2010
[8] Cook, 2015
[9] Liu & Kinney, 2014
[10] Cook, 2015
[11] Cook, 2015; Liu & Kinney, 2014
[12] Cook, 2015; Liu & Kinney, 2014
[13] Cook, 2015; Liu & Kinney, 2014
[14] Cook, 2015; Liu & Kinney, 2014
[15] Cook, 2015
[16] Cook, 2015
[17] Cook, 2015
[18] Cook, 2015, p. 59; O’Hara, 1978, p. 117
[19] Cook, 2015
[20] Cook, 2015
[21] Cook, 2015, p. 59
[22] Cook, 2015, p. 59
[23] Cook, 2015
[24] Cook, 2015, p. 59
[25] Liu & Kinney, 2014, p. 78
[26] Cook, 2015, p. 59
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