Guo Ai
Concubine Guo (simplified Chinese: 国嫔; traditional Chinese: 國嬪; pinyin: Guó Pín; died 1435), personal name Guo Ai (Chinese: 郭愛; pinyin: Guō Ài), courtesy name Shanli (善理), was a concubine of Xuande Emperor.
| Guo Ai 郭愛 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concubine Guo | |||||||||
| Born | Fengyang | ||||||||
| Died | 1435 Xuande 10 (宣德十年) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Xuande Emperor | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Clan | Guo (郭) | ||||||||
Biography
Concubine Guo was born as Guo Ai in Fengyang in present day Anhui province. She was selected into the palace because she was intelligent and quick witted, and excelled at poetry and prose.[1][2] She died of illness[3][4] in 1435,[5] soon after she was selected into the palace.[3][4] She was buried with the Xuande Emperor after his death.[5]
Poetry
Well versed in poetry, Gao composed a poem in the ancient rhapsody (fu) style, for her previous life didn't seem to be happy, and probably due to illness.[6][7] Later critics commented that this poem lamenting her fate was in the style of Cai Yan, a Chinese composer, poet, and writer who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. The way she expressed her feeling was neither overblown nor undignified.[3][4] The poem appears in different anthologies with slight textual variations. The variant titles are version of "Feeling Sorry for Myself When Seriously Ill in My Residence in the Capital" (jingdi bingji zi'ai/Bingley zi'ai/zi'ai).[3][4]
References
- Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 106.
- Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 106.
- Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 107.
- Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 107.
- "The Xuande Emperor (宣德 [ɕɥántɤ̌]; Beijing, 16 March 1399– 31 January 1435) was Emperor of China from 1425 to 1435. His era name means "Proclamation of Virtue"". Chinese Monarchs. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
- Lee & Wiles 2014, p. 106-7.
- Lee & Wiles 2015, p. 106-7.
Sources
- Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (13 March 2014). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming, 618-1644. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-4316-2.
- Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Wiles, Sue (28 January 2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 - 1644. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-51562-3.