Cause & Context
During the Western Han, the widowed talent heard perform the zither melody Phoenix Courting at a banquet in Linqiong and eloped that night.
Epochal Overview
The couple ran a wine tavern in Linqiong, with tending the counter. When Xiangru later rose in imperial favor and considered taking a concubine, composed the Song of White Hair with 'May I win a person's heart, till our hair turns white', moving him to relent.
Civilizational Impact
Zhuo Wenjun's independent elopement and tavern keeping became a legendary emblem of authentic love, while the Song of White Hair remains a timeless canon of female agency and mutual fidelity.
Key Figures
Zhuo Wenjun was an eminent Western Han poet and musician; was the premier master of Han rhapsody.