Zheng Mao () was the primary wife of King Cheng of the

State of Chu Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

during 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 ancient China. She is one of 125 women whose biographies are included in the '' Biographies of Exemplary Women'', written by Liu Xiang.

Life

Zheng Mao was born to the Ying clan from the state of Zheng, which had fallen into decline after the death of Duke Zhuang. She was sent with the primary wife as a concubine for King Cheng of Chu (ruled. 671–626 BC). After she arrived at the Chu palace, the king looked down on the women's quarters and noticed her not looking up no matter what he offered her. He then made her his principal wife. Both she and his chief minister cautioned against the appointment of his son Shangchen as crown prince. After the king ignored the advice, Shangchen caused the downfall of the minister. After this, the King wanted to appoint a younger son as heir apparent instead, but now Zheng Mao advised against this, predicting civil war. Believing the king suspected her opposition against Shangchen was based on jealousy, she committed suicide. Not long after, Shangchen staged a coup d'etat and forced the King Cheng to commit suicide. Shangchen then ascended the throne as

King Mu of Chu King Mu of Chu (, died 614 BC) was from 625 to 614 BC king of the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He was born Xiong Shangchen () and King Mu was his posthumous title. Prince Shangchen was the son of King Cheng ...

Inclusion in the Lienü zhuan

The

Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

scholar Liu Xiang included her biography in the '' Biographies of Exemplary Women''. Zheng Mao's biography is part of Scroll 5, titled ''the Principled and Righteous'' ().

Notes

Work Referenced

External links

Lienu zhuan
University of Virginia E-text {{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Mao 7th-century BC Chinese women Suicides in China Zhou dynasty nobility Zheng (state) Chu state people 7th-century BC Chinese people Ancient people who committed suicide