Event Title
Cai Yan and Wang Zhaojun: Living with Barbarians
Presentation Type
Oral and/or Visual Presentation
Presenter Major(s)
Chinese Studies, Communications
Mentor Information
Yan Liang
Department
Modern Languages and Literatures
Location
Kirkhof Center 1104
Start Date
11-4-2012 1:30 PM
Keywords
Culture, Gender, Historical Perspectives, War and Peace, World Perspective
Abstract
Wang Zhaojun was a palace lady to Emperor Yuan of the Han dynasty (206BCE-8CE). During this time, Emperor Yuan ordered that some palace ladies be sent to the northern country of Xiongnu to ensure the political stability of the region. Because of Wang Zhaojun's unflattering portrait (due to her refusal to bribe the painter), the Emperor chose her to be the political bride of the Xiongnu prince and to live with the Xiongnu people (often referred to as barbarians by the Chinese at this time). Similar to Wang Zhaojun, Cai Yan (b. 177BCE) was abducted and forced to live with the Xiongnu people for 12 years. It is said that both Wang Zhaojun and Cai Yan wrote poetry about the sorrow they felt at having to live with the nomadic tribes. The stories of Wang Zhaojun and Cai Yan depict the growth in ethnic self-consciousness in China and how the Chinese felt about nomadic and non-Chinese people living outside of Han territory.
Cai Yan and Wang Zhaojun: Living with Barbarians
Kirkhof Center 1104
Wang Zhaojun was a palace lady to Emperor Yuan of the Han dynasty (206BCE-8CE). During this time, Emperor Yuan ordered that some palace ladies be sent to the northern country of Xiongnu to ensure the political stability of the region. Because of Wang Zhaojun's unflattering portrait (due to her refusal to bribe the painter), the Emperor chose her to be the political bride of the Xiongnu prince and to live with the Xiongnu people (often referred to as barbarians by the Chinese at this time). Similar to Wang Zhaojun, Cai Yan (b. 177BCE) was abducted and forced to live with the Xiongnu people for 12 years. It is said that both Wang Zhaojun and Cai Yan wrote poetry about the sorrow they felt at having to live with the nomadic tribes. The stories of Wang Zhaojun and Cai Yan depict the growth in ethnic self-consciousness in China and how the Chinese felt about nomadic and non-Chinese people living outside of Han territory.