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Cao Zhenxiu (Chinese: 曹贞秀; 1762–?) was a Chinese author, poet, calligrapher, and painter.[1][2][3]
She was the daughter of painter Cai Rui. In 1782, she married the official, poet, and calligrapher Wang Qisun.[1] She excelled in many arts. For instance, she was known as the best female calligrapher in China of her time, and it was common for those ordering calligraphy from her spouse to order from her as well.[4][2] In art, she was especially celebrated for her paintings of plum blossoms.[1] She wrote many poems, particularly in the form of quatrains, written to be accompanied by illustrations.[5]
Much of her work had a particular focus on women, including her great poetic and historical work, which featured 16 poems, each of which described an 'exemplary woman'.[6][7] Each poem was accompanied by a painting, done the artist Gai Qi.[6][8] Although works describing exemplary women were an ancient genre, Cao Zhenxiu was unique in her choices of what qualified a woman as exemplary. Instead of the traditional odes to women who showed chastity and filial piety, Cao Zhenxiu wrote about scholars, artists, calligraphers, poets, and warriors.[7][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911
- ^ a b c Yang, Binbin (2016-04-01). Heroines of the Qing: Exemplary Women Tell Their Stories. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80645-7.
- ^ a b Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Lau, Clara; Stefanowska, A. D. (2015-07-17). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-47588-0.
- ^ Two Centuries of Manchu Women Poets: An Anthology. University of Washington Press. 2017-04-03. ISBN 978-0-295-99987-6.
- ^ Sotheby's (Firm) (1993). Fine Chinese Paintings. Sotheby's.
- ^ Brown, Claudia (2006). Myriad Points of View: New Research on Ming and Qing Paintings in the Roy and Marilyn Papp Collection. Arizona State University. ISBN 978-0-939252-25-1.
- ^ a b c Cotter, Holland (2021-10-13). "Looking Close at the Fragile Beauty of Chinese Painting". International New York Times: NA.
- ^ a b Art, The Metropolitan Museum of (2018-11-15). Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 2016–2018. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- ^ Ma, Xu (2015). "Herself an Autobiographer: Writing Women's Self-Representation in the Qing". China Review International. 22 (2): 93–98. doi:10.1353/cri.2015.0020. ISSN 1527-9367. S2CID 148803989.
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