Empress Yin, empress of the first Eastern Han emperor Queen Ma, queen-consort of Emperor Ming,

Type:

Book Chapter

Published:

2016

Publisher:

Routledge

During the reign of Emperor Huandi, Qin Jia worked as an aide to the prefectural official who prepared an annual report from the prefecture to the imperial court in Luoyang, noting the area’s production and revenues. Qin Jia was asked to carry the annual report to the capital and to remain there to interpret the report for the higher government officials. Before his quick de­ parture he had not said goodbye to his wife. So he sent a chariot to his in-laws home to pick up his wife, but Xu Shu was ill and could not travel. Instead she wrote him a farewell letter in reply:Qin Jia reread Xu Shu’s letter while traveling to the capital and felt remorse at not having bid her goodbye, so he wrote a letterin reply. Xu Shu received her husband’s letter and immediately sent him another; even though they were separated, they contin­ ued to write each other often, expressing their affection and longing for each other. In his “ Poem to My Wife,” Qin Jia wrote:Medical needles can be accepted, but autumn longing is intolerable.

Türkçe sayfa →