Lady of Ch'iao Kuo

The Lady of Ch'iao Kuo (譙國夫人) (516-602) is a Hsien (俚, 冼) noblewoman who lived in Guangdong during the medieval Sui Dynasty. Most of her history is recorded in the Standard History of the Sui Dynasty by Wei Zheng and the History of Northern Dynasties by Li Dashi and Li Yanshou.

Life
The Lady was born in 516. She lived in the Sui Dynasty's time, in Southern China, where her tribe, the Hsien (the medieval Chinese word for "Xi") had their heavily forested lands treated like a penal colony.

She was a notable leader who successfully defended her tribe against its enemies, eventually earning her title as the Lady of Ch'iao Kuo. When her father died, her brother T'ing took over his position. As he was a weak ruler, she was called on often to aid him with her mother, T'ing's regent, and her council. With her relatives' help, she successfully fought her enemies and let T'ing rule a very large area of Guangdong. T'ing's conceit due to his riches has made his tribe upset, so Lady Ch'iao Kuo was called to be their leader. She refused, but did her best to stop her brother and prevent her tribe from being involved in wars.

At 535, she married Feng Pao, a Chinese general, and encouraged an appreciation of Chinese ways among her people.

After the death of her brother, she became leader of her tribe, and pacified her region. She expanded her territory after fighting southern tribes. She also merged the Hsien and Chinese cultures, which she practised during her time in Chinese schools. Even though she was sometimes termed "half-Hsien" as a result, she and other Hsien embraced learning her allies' culture.

Her accomplishments shocked many Chinese, as she is a woman, so the emperor of the Ch'en Dynasty bestowed her with many awards, including the title "Lady of Ch'iao Kuo".

She died in 602 of old age.

Family
Little is known of Lady Ch'iao Kuo's family.

No information is known about her mother and father, though some accounts mention that her father was killed while fighting raiders wearing dog-headed helmets.

She is noted to have a brother named T'ing, who ruled before her and defeated the "dog-headed" raiders and other enemies. Her other siblings are unknown.

Among her children, only Feng P'u was known by name. He accompanied his mother into many battles, and like her, he was bestowed awards by the Ch'en emperor.

The Lady of Ch'iao Kuo had three grandsons named Feng Hun, Feng Hsian, and Feng Ang. Her grandsons' parents are undetermined and their relationships to each other are also unknown.

Cultural depictions
The Lady of Ch'iao Kuo is depicted in the The Royal Diaries novel series in The Lady of Ch'iao Kuo: Warrior of the South, written by Laurence Yep. In the novel, she is known as Princess Redbird.