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snowynightXue Tao was a Tang Dynasty courtesan and poet. She was a prodigy and could write good poem as early as an age of eight. When her father died, Xue Tao picked up the trade of courtesan and befriended a lot of popular poets.
In later years, Xue was able to live independently. A contemporary wrote that she took on the garments of a Daoist adept, signaling a relatively autonomous status within Tang society.
Some 450 poems by Xue were gathered in The Brocade River Collection that survived until the 14th century. About 100 poems of her are known nowadays, which is more than of any other Tang dynasty woman. They range widely in tone and topic, giving evidence of a lively intelligence and more than passing acquaintance with the great tradition of earlier Chinese poetry.
( Autumn, Hearing the Headwaters on a Moonlit Night )
In later years, Xue was able to live independently. A contemporary wrote that she took on the garments of a Daoist adept, signaling a relatively autonomous status within Tang society.
Some 450 poems by Xue were gathered in The Brocade River Collection that survived until the 14th century. About 100 poems of her are known nowadays, which is more than of any other Tang dynasty woman. They range widely in tone and topic, giving evidence of a lively intelligence and more than passing acquaintance with the great tradition of earlier Chinese poetry.
( Autumn, Hearing the Headwaters on a Moonlit Night )
