Bao Si () was the

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

of the ancient Chinese sovereign King You of Zhou. She was considered one of the most beautiful

Chinese women Like women in many other cultures, women in China have been historically oppressed. For thousands of years, women in China lived under the patriarchal social order characterized by the Confucius teaching of “filial piety.” In modern China ...

ever.

Life

Legends record that during the last years of the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

, two dragons entered the palace of the king. When they left, the Xia king ordered that the dragon's saliva left inside the palace be kept in a wooden box. During the time of

King Li of Zhou King Li of Zhou (died in 828 BC) (), personal name Ji Hu, was the tenth king of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. Estimated dates of his reign are 877–841 BC or 857–842 BC (''Cambridge History of Ancient China''). King Li was a corrupt and decadent ...

, he tried to open the box despite a

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

against such an act, since it had not been opened for more than a thousand years. The saliva accidentally spilled and transformed into a black lizard. The lizard crawled in front of a seven-year-old slave girl. Eight years later she became pregnant while still a virgin, and gave birth to a girl. The mother abandoned the baby, who was later adopted by a couple who escaped to the

State of Bao State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

and raised her to adulthood. She was later presented by the ruler of Bao to King You. In 779 BC, Bao Si entered the palace and came into King You's favour. She bore him a son named Bofu. King You deposed Queen Shen (申后) and Crown Prince

Yijiu King Ping of Zhou (; died 720 BC), personal name Ji Yijiu, was the thirteenth king of the Zhou dynasty and the first of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Sima Qian. '' Records of the Grand Historian'', "Zhou Dynasty Annals". History He was the son of ...

. He made Bao Si the new

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and Bofu the new

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the w ...

. Bao Si was of a melancholy disposition so King You offered a thousand ounces of gold to anyone who could make her laugh. Someone at the court suggested lighting the warning beacons of Mount Li usually used to summon armies from the surrounding vassal states in times of danger. The nobles duly arrived at the court only to find themselves laughed at by Bao Si. Even after King You had impressed Bao Si, he continued to abuse his use of warning beacons and so lost the trust of the nobles. EN-WesternZhouStates

Queen Shen's father the Marquess of Shen was upset by the deposition of his daughter and grandson Yijiu and mounted an attack on King You's palace in conjunction with

Quanrong The Quanrong () or Dog Rong were an ethnic group, classified by the ancient Chinese as " Qiang", active in the northwestern part of China during and after the Zhou dynasty (1046–221 BCE). Their language or languages are considered to have been me ...

nomads. King You called for the nobles with the beacons but none came as they no longer trusted him. In the end, King You and Bofu were killed and Bao Si was captured at Xi (戲/戏) for the Quanrong leader. King You's death marks the end of the

Western Zhou The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

and the beginning of the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. After her capture, the Marquess of Shen managed to get Bao Si for himself. Bao Si accepted a bribe from him and leave the capital.

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

, ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

• Zhou Dynasty Annals'' Later, during another attack by Quanrong nomads, Bao Si was unable to escape and hanged herself. Her date of death is unknown. The story of Bao Si and King You of Zhou is amongst the most well-known and iconic of love stories from

ancient China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

, and serves not only as a demonstration of extreme love but also as a cautionary tale of how one beauty can topple a nation. Through the few references available, it can be presumed that Bao Si was born in 792 BC (three years younger than King You) and died in 771 BC (assuming that her death happened by suicide shortly after the Quanrong attack).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bao Si 8th-century BC Chinese women 8th-century BC Chinese people Zhou dynasty consorts Zhou dynasty nobility

Life

See also

References