Xuan Jiang

Xuan Jiang
宣姜
Duchess of Wey
Born730 BC
Died690 BC
SpousesDuke Xuan of Wey
Zhaobo of Wey (衛昭伯)
IssueShou (壽)
Duke Hui of Wey
Qizi (齊子)
Duke Dai of Wey
Duke Wen of Wey
Lady Jiang, wife of Duke Huan of Song
Lady Jiang, wife of Duke Mu of Xu
FatherDuke Xi of Qi

Xuan Jiang (730–690 BC), was the Duchess consort of Duke Xuan of Wey (r. 718–700). She was the daughter of the Duke Xi of Qi of the Jiang clan. Her personal name is unknown, and Xuan was her posthumous title.

She married Duke Xuan of Wey and became the mother of two sons: Shou (壽) and Shuo (朔).

She was initially engaged to Crown prince Jizi (急子), son of Duke Xi with another woman named Yi Jiang (夷姜), but her future stepfather chose to marry her himself instead. She is known for arranging the murder of her stepson Jizi with the support of her younger son Shuo (朔) by hiring robbers to attack him on the road. Initially, her own older son Shou (壽) was killed in error for having disguised as his stepbrother Jizi in order to protect him, but she succeeded on her second attempt.

When Shuo, later known as Duke Hui of Wey, succeeded his father, she was convinced by her brother Duke Xiang of Qi to marry her stepson prince Wan (頑), who was also known as Zhaobo of Wey (衛昭伯). Zhaobo refused the marriage, but Qi forced him to marry her. They had five children.

Legacy

She is included in the "Biographies of Pernicious and Depraved Women" (孽嬖傳) of the Biographies of Exemplary Women, a Han dynasty collection of biographies of women in ancient China up to its time.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lily Xiao Hong Lee, A. D. Stefanowska, Sue Wiles. Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity through Sui, 1600 B.C.E. - 618 C.E. at Google Books 2007.
  2. ↑ Ho, Clara Wing-chung (2012-08-20). Overt and Covert Treasures: Essays on the Sources for Chinese Women's History. The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. ISBN 978-962-996-429-0.
  3. ↑ Durrant, Stephen; Li, Wai-yee; Schaberg, David (2016). Zuo Tradition/Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (1st ed.). Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 241. ISBN 9780295999159.