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Xu Hui

627 – 650

Poet and consort to Emperor Taizong of Tang. Chinese woman poet in Tang Dynasty. CBDB ID = 31067

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About Xu Hui

Lived 627 – 650 (aged 22–23). Xu Hui was a Chinese poet and writer.

Xu Hui (; 627–650) was a female Chinese poet, "the first of all women poets of the Tang, an individual scarcely even noted in traditional literary history... but the only one of the thirty-plus 'empresses and consorts'...given biographies in the official Tang histories to have any of her own writings quoted there."

Xu Hui was the child prodigy daughter of Xu Xiaode, from Changcheng in Huzhou (in modern Zhejiang province). She became a minor consort to the Tang dynasty's second emperor, Emperor Taizong of Tang. Although originally appointed as a fifth-rank court lady, a "Talented Lady" (, 才人), she was later promoted to an imperial concubine status, as a "Replete of Mien" (, 充容).

Xu Hui is one of China's outstanding early female poets, and is believed to have written around one thousand poems, but only five survive today, It reads, in partial English translation:

You used to love my Cypress Rafter Terrace, But now you dote upon her Bright Yang Palace. I know my place, take leave of your palanquin. Hold in my feelings, weep for a cast-off fan. There was a time my dances, songs, brought honor. These letters and poems of long ago? Despised! It's true, I think--your favor collapsed like waves. Hard to offer water that's been spilled.

Tradition holds that on the Emperor Taizong's death, she became ill from grief, and died the following year. Taizong's successor Gaozong posthumously honored her with the title Xianfei (賢妃), and promoted her father on her account to be prefect of Guozhou. She was also given the privilege of satellite burial within Emperor Taizong's mausoleum, the Zhaoling.

Media Portrayed by Janine Chang in the 2014 Chinese television series The Empress of China.

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Important facts

Born
627, Huzhou
Birth century
Died
650, Chang'an
Occupation
Nationality
Also known as
Tsui Wai, Xuxianfei, Chui Wai

People in Xu Hui's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Xu Hui's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Xu Hui?

Poet and consort to Emperor Taizong of Tang. Chinese woman poet in Tang Dynasty. CBDB ID = 31067

When was Xu Hui born?

Xu Hui was born in 627 in Huzhou.

When did Xu Hui die?

Xu Hui died in 650 in Chang'an.

What was Xu Hui's occupation?

Xu Hui was a poet and writer.

What nationality was Xu Hui?

Xu Hui was Chinese.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Xu Hui

· Wikidata: Q855999

· DBpedia: Xu Hui

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Xu Hui. https://biography.guide/xu-hui/

MLA: "Xu Hui." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/xu-hui/.

Chicago: "Xu Hui." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/xu-hui/.

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