Xu Shu

Han-dynasty poet. Born in present day Gansu province, Xu Shu was believed to have lived around the time of Emperor Huan (147-167). Attached to her husband Qin Jia, she was unable to accompany him to the capital Luoyang and so the two wrote to one another. After the death of her husband, her brothers attempted to force a remarriage, but Xu Shu disfigured herself to avoid such a fate. Her only surviving poem is "Da Qin Jia shi" [Poem written in reply to Qin Jia]; three prose pieces are also extant in the anthology Complete Prose of High Antiquity.

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