Royals › Empress / Consort
Xiao Qiao
Younger of the Two Qiaos and wife of Zhou Yu in Eastern Wu
In a spring palace garden, a pavilion with round windows stands over a pond of goldfish; a peony-painted round fan, a zither and a lacquer box of pearl hairpins lie in the foreground, and one small figure in a long-sleeved gown stands at the far end of a covered walkway.
Also known as Madam Zhou Yu · Lady Qiao
- Roles
- Empress / Consort
Xiao Qiao was the younger daughter of Lord Qiao of Lujiang, the younger sister of Da Qiao and the wife of Zhou Yu. The Sanguozhi biography of Zhou Yu says that when Sun Ce and Zhou Yu took Wan in 199 they obtained Lord Qiao's two daughters, both great beauties; Sun Ce took Da Qiao and Zhou Yu took Xiao Qiao. Du Mu's poem Red Cliff pictures the two Qiaos locked in the Bronze Sparrow Terrace; the story that Cao Cao wanted them comes from later poetry and fiction.
Life and times
Dates c. 182 - c. 223