Vaas met een vrouw die de pipa bespeelt
The woman depicted on this vase is playing a pipa. A legend links this instrument to Princess Liu Xijun (123?–101 BCE), whom the emperor sent off to marry the king of the Wusun. The emperor ordered a stringed instrument to be made that could be played on horseback during her long journey. Liu also wrote the earliest poem attributable to a named woman in which she describes her homesickness.