Feng Liao (馮嫽) was China's first official female diplomat, who represented the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

Wusun The Wusun ( ) were an ancient semi-Eurasian nomads, nomadic Eurasian Steppe, steppe people of unknown origin mentioned in Chinese people, Chinese records from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The Wusun originally l ...

(烏孫), which was in the Western Regions. It was a practice for the Imperial Court to foster alliances with the northern tribes via marriage, and two Han princesses had married

kings. Feng Liao was the maidservant of Princess Jieyou (解憂公主), who was married off to a Wusun king. Feng herself later married an influential Wusun general, whose good standing with Prince Wujiutu (烏就屠) of the kingdom later proved beneficial to the

. When Prince Wujiutu seized the throne of

in 64 BC, after his father died, there was fear in the Imperial Court of Han that Wujiutu, whose mother was

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

, would allow

to become Xiongnu's vassal. Zheng Ji, Governor of the Western Regions, recalled that Feng Liao had married into Wusun and with her familiarity of the Wusun customs, she was a prime candidate to persuade Wujiutu to ally his kingdom with Han. Wujiutu acceded and Emperor Xuan of Han (漢宣帝) sent for Feng. He praised her for her judgement and diplomacy, and appointed her as the official envoy to Wusun. Wujiutu was conferred the title "Little King of Wusun" while his brother, the son by a Han princess, was named "Great King of Wusun". Wusun was divided between the two kings and tensions in that region were eased.

Historical Sources and Archives

Multiple historical texts produced from the Han dynasty and later ancient Chinese dynasties recorded Feng's accomplishments. The best known sources out of them are '' The Book of Han'' and '' Zizhi Tongjian,'' specifically the 19th chapter on the Han dynasty. In addition to those texts, a collection of Han bamboo and wooden slips found in Dunhuang described some of Feng Liao's life in Wusun.

References

*'' Book of Han'', vol. 96B. * ''Evoking Past Glories in the Desert.'' (2001). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20110707050225/http://www.investchina.org.cn/english/culture/63515.htm. *Feng Menglong. (2000). ''Gujin Xiaoshuo'' ("Stories Old and New"). (S. H. Yang & Y. Q. Yang, Trans.) ''Stories Old and New: A Ming Dynasty Collection.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press. (1620). *Peterson, Barbara Bennett (Ed.). (2000). ''Notable women of China: Shang dynasty to the early twentieth century.'' New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. * Yu, Taishan. (2006). ''A Study of the History of the Relationship Between the Western and Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions.'' Retrieved from http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp173_chinese_dynasties_western0206.pdf. {{DEFAULTSORT:Feng, Liao Han dynasty diplomats 1st-century BC Chinese women Chinese women diplomats