She was Ouyang Xiu’s only first wife, but she passed away due to childbirth at the age of 16. Interested readers and history encyclopedia editors should take a look together!
Ouyang Xiu, one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, was born in Longgang Village, Shaxi Town, Yongfeng County, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province. There is a Phoenix Mountain in Shaxi Town, where Ouyang Xiu’s father Ouyang Guan, mother Zheng, first wife Xu, and second wife Yang all rest in eternal peace.
In ancient times, the system of one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines was implemented. A man only has one main wife, but can have several concubines. The emperor also had only one legitimate wife, such as Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, whose only legitimate wife was Empress Changsun. Other concubines can only be concubines.
In ancient times, a man’s first legitimate wife was his hairless wife, also known as his first wife. After the death of his first wife, the main wife that a man remarries is to fill in the house, also known as a concubine, a second wife, or a third wife.
Ouyang Xiu had three legitimate wives throughout his life, with only Xu being the first wife and the other two being second wives. Today’s story is about Ouyang Xiu and his wife Xu.
The Xu family comes from a prestigious family. My father is Xu Yan. Xu Yan, with the courtesy name Andao, was born in Changsha, Hunan. He was a renowned literary figure of the time and passed the imperial examination during the Northern Song Dynasty. When Xu Yan was in charge in Wuchang, the destitute Ouyang Xiu came to seek a meeting.
Ouyang Xiu was 22 years old at the time and experienced the pain of failing the imperial examination twice. At that time, the imperial examination required writing contemporary essays, which were articles commenting on current events. Ouyang Xiu was good at poetry and prose, but not good at contemporary literature, so he fell from grace twice.
Xu Yan was one of the highest level literary masters at that time, and Ouyang Xiu came to learn from him. The Biography of Xu Yan in the History of Song Dynasty records the scene of Ouyang Xiu seeking to meet Xu Yan. The original text is: “Ouyang Xiu first met Yan, and Yan loved his writing. He summoned him to his household and married his daughter
Ouyang Xiu went to apprentice, and Xu Yan cherished Ouyang Xiu’s talent. He not only took him as his disciple, but also betrothed his daughter to Ouyang Xiu. At that time, Xu was only 11 years old and could not marry Ouyang Xiu. Xu was only Ouyang Xiu’s fianc é e.
Xu brought his future mother-in-law Zheng to Wuchang and showed filial piety to her with the etiquette of a daughter-in-law. Ouyang Xiu lost his father at the age of 4, and his mother Zheng worked hard to raise him to adulthood. Since her husband’s death, Zheng has not been living a good life. The Xu family showed filial piety to the Zheng family in every way, which greatly satisfied Ouyang Xiu and the Zheng family.
Xu Yan carefully taught Ouyang Xiu, and Xu was responsible for taking care of the lives of Ouyang Xiu and Zheng. During his three years in Xufu, Ouyang Xiu made rapid progress in his literary and martial arts skills. At the age of 24, Ouyang Xiu once again embarked on the path of the imperial examination, and as a result, he became a successful candidate in the high school Huiyuan examination and ranked 14th in the high school A-level imperial examination.
Just as Ouyang Xiu celebrated the glory of being listed on the imperial examination, he was greeted with the joy of bridal candles. In ancient times, people got married early, and girls were considered eligible for marriage after the age of 14. At the age of 15, Xu married Ouyang Xiu and became his legitimate wife.
After her wedding, Xu gave birth to her eldest son, Ouyang Xiu. Xu suffered from difficult childbirth due to giving birth to a child. Before the child was even one month old, Xu’s treatment was ineffective and he passed away at the young age of 16.
Although the marriage between Xu and Ouyang Xiu only lasted for one year, their status as legitimate wives was unshakable. In his later years, Ouyang Xiu sent his mother Zheng back to his hometown of Fenghuangshan and buried her with his father Ouyang Guan. As the first wife of Ouyang Xiu, Xu was relocated to the Ouyang family cemetery along with her mother-in-law Zheng.
When Ouyang Xiu asked his mother and his first wife to be buried in their hometown, he left behind one of the three major sacrificial texts in China, the “Longgang Qianbiao”, and also erected a Longgang Qianbiao stele. The Longgang Qianbiao Stele today is a national key cultural relic protection unit.
A while ago, I went to Fenghuang Mountain to collect wind. The tomb of the Ouyang family is still on Fenghuang Mountain. Out of respect for the deceased ancestors, I did not take pictures of the Ouyang family cemetery, only pictures of the Longgangqian Stele and Stele Pavilion.
Xu Yan showed great kindness to Ouyang Xiu, and even after Lady Xu’s death, Ouyang Xiu treated Xu Yan with the courtesy of a son-in-law. Unfortunately, the son-in-law turned against Fan Zhongyan later.
Fan Zhongyan implemented the Qingli New Policy, Xu Yan was a conservative who opposed the reform, and Ouyang Xiu was a reformist who supported the reform. Xu Yan hoped that his son-in-law Ouyang Xiu would stand with him and oppose Fan Zhongyan’s reform. Ouyang Xiu abandoned his family ties for the sake of justice and steadfastly supported Fan Zhongyan.
Xu Yan therefore did not recognize Ouyang Xiu as his son-in-law and would not associate with him until his death. Although Xu Yan did not recognize Ouyang Xiu as his son-in-law, the “History of Song” still praised the cultivation of Ouyang Xiu as a great achievement of Xu Yan.
After Xu Yan’s death, Ouyang Xiu wrote a letter to Xu’s uncle, explaining that he was not ungrateful, but supported Fan Zhongyan for the sake of justice. The members of the Xu family forgave Ouyang Xiu and once again acknowledged him as the son-in-law of the Xu family. The relationship between Ouyang Xiu and the Xu clan was quite good after Xu Yan’s death.
