Xue Susu

Biography Xue was born in either Suzhou or Jiaxing (contemporary sources disagree). According to the historian Qian Qianyi she spent at least some of her childhood in Beijing. Due to her poor background, Xue Susu had performed in a circus troupe since she was a child, and there developed the skills of horse riding, shooting a slingshot, and tightrope walking. Later, Xue Susu chose to become a courtesan. She spent her professional life in the Qinhuai pleasure quarter of Nanjing in the 1580s, where she became something of a celebrity among the literati and government officials who frequented the Jiaofang there.

In the 1590s she returned to Beijing, where the parties and literary gatherings that she hosted, as well as her archery demonstrations, further cemented her reputation. Xue Susu was proficient in Go and is the only female chess player in the Ming Dynasty whose skill is documented. Xue Susu referred to herself as "a female knight-errant", and she chose the sobriquet Wulang (五郎), meaning "fifth young gentleman", as a nickname. At some point after 1605, her career as a courtesan came to an end when she married the playwright and bureaucrat Shen Defu. Finally, after leaving the Shen household, she married Yuan Weizhi (袁微之), a wealthy businessman in Suzhou, as a concubine. Late in life, Xue wanted to have children, but she was past child-bearing age, so this was impossible. Instead, she prayed for all those in love to have the children she could not.

In later life she converted to Buddhism, largely retiring from the world. The date of her death is uncertain; some sources suggest she may have lived into the 1650s, whilst others put her death in the late 1630s or early 1640s. Qian Qianyi mentions her death in a work published in 1652, so she must have died before this date.

Paintings

Already an accomplished painter in her teenage years, One of her paintings was considered "the most accomplished work of its kind in the whole of the Ming period",

Poetry Xue regularly accented her paintings with her own poems, and published two volumes of writing, only one of which survives. Hua suo shi (Trifles about Flowers) is a collection of short prose essays and anecdotes about various flowers, whilst Nan you cao (Notes from a Journey to the South), which has been lost, apparently contained a selection of her poems regarding life as a courtesan. A number of these were collected in various anthologies from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Hu Yinglin wrote that, "Her poetry, although lacking in freedom, shows a talent rare among women."

Hu Yinglin wrote of Xue: Who transplanted this flower of renowned species to the Imperial garden? Hers is a smile worth a thousand pieces of gold She lives near the mooring like Taoye [Peach Leaf], under the wind She resembles rushes, standing in the water, embracing the moon, and humming The red phoenix is half-raised because of her mate Her eyebrows are slightly frowning, expecting a heart to share This is the moment to read Eternal Regret, the poem of Bo Juyi Beside the bed, she is awaiting the lute of jade. Xue's own works deal with a variety of themes, from the mildy erotic: Inside the city walls of stone in the pleasure quarter I feel deeply mortified that my talents outshine all the others The river glitters, the waters clear, and the seagulls swim in pairs The sky looks hollow, the clouds serene, and the wild geese fly in rows My embroidered dress partly borrows the hue of hibiscus The emerald wine shares the scent of lotus If I did not reciprocate your feelings Would I dare to feast with you, Master He? to the romantic: This lovely night I think of you, wondering whether you will return The lonely lamp shines on me, casting a faint shadow I clutch one lone pillow; there is nobody to talk to Moonlight floods the deserted courtyard; tears soak my dress. to the whimsically philosophical: Full of aroma is the taste of wine beneath the bloom Tinged in azure the gate surrounded by bamboo In solitude I watch the seagulls fly across the sky Carefree and content, I feel fully satisfied. Xue often exchanged poems and paintings with her clientele, receiving their own artworks in exchange.

Archery Whilst she excelled at poetry, painting, and embroidery, the skill that set Xue apart from other courtesans was her talent for archery. Her mastery of a traditionally masculine art gave her an air of androgyny that was considered highly attractive by the literati of the time. Having practiced in Beijing as a child, she furthered her skills during a sojourn in the company of a military officer in the outlying regions of China. The horsemen of the local tribes there were impressed with her shooting, and she became something of a local celebrity. Later in life she gave public demonstrations in Hangzhou, which drew large audiences. Hu Yinglin describes one such performance: "She is able to shoot two balls from her crossbow one after another and make the second ball strike the first and break it in mid-air. Another trick she can do is to place a ball on the ground, and, by pulling the bow backwards with her left hand, while her right hand draws the bow from behind her back, hit it. Out of a hundred shots, she does not miss a single one. The poet Lu Bi recalls another trick shot performed by Xue: "When the servant girl takes a ball in her hand and places it on top of her head / She [Xue] turns around, hits it with another ball, and both balls fall to the ground."