page_title: Liu Rushi
section_title: Marriage to Qian Qianyi
hierarchical_section_title: Liu Rushi / Marriage to Qian Qianyi
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 柳如是墓，罗城及墓堆。
context_page_description: Liu Rushi, also known as Liu Shi, Liu Yin and Yang Yin, was a Chinese courtesan and poet in the late Ming dynasty who married Qian Qianyi at the age of 25. She committed suicide on the death of her husband. She famously exchanged verses with Chen Zilong, and was noted for her painting.
  She was friends with fellow courtesan Chen Yuanyuan, who was the concubine of Wu Sangui.
  She is one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai described by late Qing officials. The other famed courtesans of this group are Ma Xianglan, Bian Yujing, Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan, Gu Mei, Kou Baimen, and Chen Yuanyuan.
context_section_description: In 1640 Liu embarked on a campaign to marry the respected scholar Qian Qianyi. Dressed in men's clothing, she accosted Qian and requested his opinion on one of her poems. Qian apparently believed her to be a man, but later in the year he had established her at a specially built hermitage in the grounds of his Suzhou estate, called the "According to Sutra Studio". They married in 1641, whilst on a river cruise; Qian bestowing upon his bride the new name of Hedong. Although he married her as a concubine, Qian treated Liu as his principal wife, and they were married in a formal wedding ceremony. Her affinity for cross-dressing persisted after they were married; she regularly wore men's clothing whilst in public and on occasion made calls on her husband's behalf whilst dressed in his Confucian robes (this affectation earned her the nickname rushi, "Confucian Gentleman", which also puns on her chosen name Rushi).
  After the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, Liu tried to persuade her husband to commit suicide and martyr himself to the fallen Ming. Qian refused, instead choosing to organise the resistance movement against the newly established Qing regime. In 1648, the couple had a daughter together.
  The last years of her life were difficult for Liu. In 1663, she entered the Buddhist laity, partly as a response to the destruction of her husband's substantial personal library, the Crimson Cloud-Storied Hall. After Qian's death in 1664, his creditors and enemies attempted to extort money from Liu; their machinations eventually drove her to hang herself.
caption: Tomb of Liu Rushi, on Mount Yu, Changshu
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