Writers › Cultural Persona
Su Xiaoxiao
Said to have been a famous courtesan of Qiantang in the Southern Qi, known from a Yuefu note and an old song bearing her name, her story largely legend
In lantern light and drifting smoke, a row of painted theatrical masks stands on a wooden rail beneath a glowing paper dragon lantern and hanging red lanterns; a folding screen painted with a river, a bridge and hills stands at the right, with a bronze burner and small lamps on the floor.
Also known as Qiantang Su Xiaoxiao
- Roles
- Cultural Persona
Su Xiaoxiao is said to have been a famous courtesan of Qiantang under the Southern Qi. Volume 85 of the Yuefu shiji prints the old song Song of Su Xiaoxiao, also titled Song of Su Xiaoxiao of Qiantang, among its miscellaneous ballads, and a note quotes the Yuefu guangti calling her a famous courtesan of Qiantang, probably of the Southern Qi; the New Songs from a Jade Terrace also carries a Song of Su Xiao of Qiantang. The song pictures a girl in a lacquered carriage and her lover on a blue-white horse, which is why later tradition places her in such a carriage, but it cannot be established that she wrote it. Her story grew in gazetteers, tales and drama and is largely legend. Her tomb and the Mucai Pavilion stand by Xiling Bridge on West Lake in Hangzhou.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; traditionally a famous courtesan of Qiantang in the Southern Qi