Royals › Empress / Consort
Xia Ji
Daughter of Duke Mu of Zheng at the centre of the Chen and Chu crises of 599 BCE
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 Lady Xia · Princess of Zheng
- Roles
- Empress / Consort
Xia Ji, a daughter of Duke Mu of Zheng, married the Chen official Xia Yushu and bore Xia Zhengshu. Duke Ling of Chen and the officials Kong Ning and Yi Xingfu had affairs with her; in 599 BCE Zhengshu killed the duke, and the next year King Zhuang of Chu had him executed. Wuchen, Lord of Shen in Chu, later married her and fled with her to Jin. Liu Xiang's Biographies of Women says she was thrice a queen and seven times a wife. The Zuo Zhuan and Guoyu make Yushu her husband; the Tsinghua slips and Guliang Zhuan call her Zhengshu's wife.
Life and times
Dates c. 630 BCE - c. 580 BCE