Xainctonge, Anne de – (1567 – 1621)
French nun and saint
Anne was born (Nov 21, 1567) in Dijon, Burgundy, the daughter of a local councillor, Jean de Xainctonge and his wife Margeurite Collard. She never married and became determined upon entering the religious life. With her friend Claudine de Boisset and some other companions, Anne established the Sisters of St Ursula of the Blessed Virgin at Dole, in Franche-Comte (1606). Other houses of her order were built throughout France and in Switzerland. Anne Xainctonge died at (June 8, 1621) at Dole, aged fifty-three. She was declared venerable (1900) and her feast observed annually (June 8).
Xamada, Clara – (d. 1622)
Japanese Christian martyr
Clara and her husband Domingo Xamada had been converted to Roman Catholicism by the Jesuit missionaries. During the persecutions against Christianity engendered by the Japanese authorities, Clara and her husband, and many other Christians were arrested and imprisoned. Both refused to abjure their faith and were publicly executed in Nagasaki with Lucia de Freitas and many others. Clara Xamada was revered as a saint by the Franciscans (Sept 10).
Xanthippe – (fl. c430 – after 399 BC)
Greek patrician
Xanthippe was the wife of the famous Athenian philosopher Sokrates, whom she survived, and was the mother of his sons. She has the historical reputation, probably undeservedly, of being something of a shrew by nature, though Sokrates could hardly have been an easy person to live with.
Xantippa – (fl. c50 – c70 AD)
Graeco-Roman Christian matron
She and her friend Polyxena were described in the Roman Martyrology as ‘disciples of the apostle’ in Spain. Xantippa was venerated as a saint (Sept 23) and her feast was recorded in the Acta Sanctorum.
Xaramillo, Maria – (1526 – 1569)
Spanish-American heiress
Maria Xaramillon was the daughter of Juan Xaramillo de Salvatierra, one f the conquistadores associated with Hernando Cortes. Her mother was the Mexican interpreter Malinche formerly the wife or mistress of Cortes. In 1542 Maria was married by Cortes to Luis de Quevada, nephew of the Spanish viceroy Don Antonio Mendoza, to whom she bore three sons. There is some evidence that Maria was forcibly abducted and married against her will. Her marriage was certainly not a congenial one. Not long after the marriage the couple instituted legal proceedings against Maria’s father, who had planned to leave two-thirds of his estate to his Spanish wife, Beatriz de Andrade. Her written statement (1547) which survives, concerns proofs that her parents were legally married. This legal battle lasted twenty years.
Xene of Pantokrator see Irene of Hungary
Xenia Alexandrovna – (1875 – 1960)
Russian Romanov grand duchess
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna was the elder daughter of Tsar Alexander II (1881 – 1894) and his wife Marie Feodorovna, formerly Dagmar of Denmark. She was married to a cousin Grand Duke Alexander Romanov, to whom she bore several sons. Xenia survived the murders of her brother and his family, and she and her family escaped Russia with her mother, the Empress Dowager. The Grand duchess went to reside in England, where George V granted her the mansion of Wilderness House for her lifetime.
Xenia Andreievna – (1919 – 2000)
Russian Romanov princess
Princess Xenia Andreievna Romanovna was born (March 10, 1919) in Paris, the daughter of Prince Andrei Alexandrovitch Romanov, a descendant of Tsar Nicholas I (1825 – 1855), and of his first wife, Elisabetta Ruffo, the daughter of the Italian peer, Fabrizio Ruffo, Duca di Sasso-Ruffo. Princess Xenia was married firstly (1945) in London, to Calhoun Ancrum (born 1915), the son of a US Marine Corps colonel, but this union ended in divorce (1954). She was married secondly (1958) in Teheran, Iran, to a British citizen, Geoffrey Cuthbert Tooth (born 1908). Both marriages remained childless. Princess Xenia died (Oct, 2000) in Saint-Cernin, France, aged eighty-one.
Xenia Borisovna (Ksenia) – (1581 – 1622)
Russian grand duchess
Grand Duchess Xenia Borisovna was the only surviving daughter of Tsar Boris Godunov and his wife Maria Grigorievna Skuratova. She was praised by contemporaries during her childhood for her beauty and intelligence. Xenia was first offered as a bride (1600) to Prince Gustav, son of the deposed Erik XIV of Sweden in the hope that he might provide her father with some claim to the principalities of Livonia and Estonia, but the marriage was prevented by the personality defects of the bridegroom himself. Another marriage arranged with Prince John, the brother of Charles IV of Denmark was ended with the death of the prince whilst travelling to Russia to meet his bride (1602).
With the downfall of her brother Feodor II (1605), she was captured with him and their mother, the Dowager Empress, when the Kremlin Palace was invaded by the mob. Her mother and brother were brutally killed but Xenia was spared, and sent to the safety of the Novodyevichy convent. With the coronation of the pretender Dimitri (Aug, 1605) rumours stated that he had had Xenia installed in the Kremlin as his mistress, but their remains no factual evidence to support this wild claim. Perhaps in order to prevent rumours of this kind gaining popular circulation, Dimitri forced Xenia to take formal vows as a nun, and she adopted the religious name of Olga. She later made formal recognition of Tsar Mikhail Romanov (1614) and remained a nun until her death. Grand Duhcess Xenia died at the Varsonofyevsky monastery in Suzdal.
Xenia Georgievna – (1903 – 1965)
Romanov princess of Russia
Princess Xenia Georgievna was born (Aug 22, 1903) at Mikhailovskoie, the second daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovitch (1863 – 1919), and his wife Maria Georgievna, formerly Princess Marie of Greece, the daughter of King Georgios I. she and her sister, Princess Nina Chavchavadze bore the style of Princess of Russia prior to their respective marriages. Xenia Georgievna was a granddaughter of Tsar Alexander III (1881 – 1894) and his wife Marie Feodorovna, formerly Dagmar of Denmark, the daughter of Christian IX, King of Denmark (1863 – 1906). She was great-niece to Queen Alexandra, the wife of Edward VII, King of Great Britain (1901 – 1910).
Princess Xenia was married firstly in Paris (1921 – 1930) to the well connected William Bateman Leeds. She bore him a daughter but the marriage ended in divorce. A prominent figure in smart and established American society, the princess supported the claims of Anna Anderson to be her kinswoman, the Romanov Grand duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. Her support failed to impress the Dowager Empress Marie. Princess Xenia was later remarried in New York (1946) to the prominent businessman Herman Jud (born 1911). Princess Xenia died (Sept 17, 1965) at Glen Cove on Long Island, New York, aged sixty-two.
Xenia of Armenia see Rita of Armenia
Xenia of Montenegro – (1881 – 1960)
Princess
Xenia was born (April 22, 1881) at Cetinje, the capital of Montenegro, the eighth daughter of King Nikola I (1910 – 1921) and his wife Milena, the daughter of Senator Petar Vukotich. Princess Xenia was the sister of King Danilo I Alexander (March, 1921) and the aunt of King Michael I (1921 – 1922). Two of her sisters were married into the Romanov Imperial family, whilst her sister Elena was the wife of Vittorio Emanuele III, King of Italy. Xenia herself remained unmarried. After the fall of the monarchy the princess retired to live in France. She survived the upheavals of WW II and resided in Paris. Princess Xenia died (March 10, 1960) in Paris, aged seventy-eight.
Xenia of St-Petersburg – (c1725 – c1803)
Russian nun and saint
Xenia Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of Colonel Andrei Fyodorovich Petrov, who served as a religious official at the Cathedral of St Andrew. With the death of Petrov, Xenia distributed her wealth amongst the poor and became mendicant nun within the city of St Petersburg for almost five decades. She was widely respected and revered for her religious sanctity. Xenia was later canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church (1988) and her feast observed annually (Feb 6). Xenia is the patron saint of the city of St Petersburg.
Xenia Sergievna – (1929 – 1968)
Russian-Austrian Hapsburg princess
Countess Xenia Sergievna Besobrasova was born (June 11, 1929) in Paris, France, the daughter of Count Sergei Alexandrovitch Besobrasov, of the family of the counts Tchernychev-Kruglikov-Besobrasov, and of his wife Countess Elisaveta Dmitrievna Cheremteva. Countess Xenia was married (1953) in Tuxedo Park, New York, USA to Archduke Rudolf Syringus (born 1919), a younger son of the last last Hapsburg emperor Karl I (1916 – 1918) and his wife Zita of Bourbon-Parma. The couple had four children. Archduchess Xenia was killed (Sept 20, 1968) in a motor accident at Costeau, between Soignies and Mons in Belgium, aged thirty-nine. Her husband remarried to Princess Anna von Wrede, who bore him a daughter. Xenia’s children were,
Xenia Sophie Charlotte Cecilie – (1949 – 1992)
Princess of Prussia
Princess Xenia was born (Dec 9, 1949) at Bremen-Oberneuland, the third and youngest daughter of Prince Ludwig Ferdinand (1907 – 1994) and his wife the Grand Duchess Kira Kirrillovna Romanov of Russia (1909 – 1967), the daughter of Grand Duke Kyrill Vladimirovitch (1876 – 1938). Her father was the grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (1888 – 1918), himself the grandson of Queen Victoria of England. Princess Xenia was married at Bremen (1973) to a Swedish national Per Edvard Lithander (born 1945). The couple had two sons prior to their eventual divorce (1978), both born in Bremen, Patrick Edvard Lithander (born 1973) and Wilhelm Sebastian Lithander (born 1974). Xenia never remarried. Princess Xenia died (Jan 18, 1992) aged forty-two.
Xenoniane Maidate, Aurelia – (fl. 222 – 235 AD)
Graeco-Roman civic leader
Aurelia Xenoniane Maidate was the daughter of Limnaius, a leading patron of the city of Selge, in Pisidia, Asia Minor. She was accorded the honorific civic title of hierophantis and served as priestess of the goddess Tyche (fortune) for life. Xenoniane Maidate was the wife of Publius Plancius Maganianus Xenon, to whom she bore two children. Her daughter Publia Plancia Aurelia Magnaniana Motoxaris also served as a public priestess.
Xiang – (c1053 – 1100)
Chinese empress
Xiang was the third wife of the Emperor Shezong (1048 – 1085) who reigned (1067 – 1085). During her husband’s reign, his mother, the Dowager empress Gao controlled public affairs. With her death (1093) Xiang became empress Dowager during the reign of her stepson Zhezong. He died young (1101) and Xiang allowed his son Huizong to succeed as emperor.
Like her late mother-in-law, Empress Xiang favoured the conservative traditional policies, and not the radical reform party. As a result, by the time of her death several months after Huizong’s accession, the economic situation had become virtually intolerable, with over seventy-five per cent of the dwindling imperial revenues being devoted to military expenditure, whilst the central government was saturated by corruption and political rivalry.
Xiang Jingyu (Hsiang Ching Yu) – (1895 – 1928)
Chinese revolutionary and feminist
Xiang Jingyu established a school for girls and campaigned against footbinding and feudal marriage arrangements. She was married to Cai Hseng and was the author of A thesis on the Emancipation and Transformation of Women (1920). Xiang Jingyu was arrested during Xiang Kai Shek’s oppression of the Communists. She was condemned and executed (May, 1928) being gagged to prevent her making a final speech to the crowd.
Xianwen see Yang Xianrong
Xiao, Shuxian (Hsiao, Shu-sien) - (1905 - 1991)
Chinese composer and educator
Shuxian Xiao was born (April 9, 1905) at Tianjin. She studied at the Conservatoire Royale de Musique in Brussels, Belgium, and became the wife (1935 – 1954) of the conductor Hermann Scherchen. Their daughter was the composer Tona Scherchen. During the war years she lived mainly in Switzerland, where she gave lectures on Chinese culture.
Her best known compositions included her Chinese Children’s Suite (1938) for voice and piano, and Huainian Zuguo (A Commemoration of my Homeland). She later returned to China with her children (1950). Xiao translated Erno Lendvai’s piece on Bela Bartok’s form and harmony into Chinese (1979) whilst her own Collected Compositions were published posthumously in the Journal of the Central Conservatory of Music (1992). Shuxian Xiao died (Nov 26, 1991) aged eighty-six, at Beijing.
Xiao-Che – (1854 – 1875)
Chinese empress
Formerly known as Alute, she was the daughter of the Manchu prince Ch’ung-chi, and was chosen to be the bride (1872) of the Emperor Tongzhi (1856 – 1875), the son of Emperor Xianfeng and Empress Dowager Cixi. Beautiful and intelligent her marriage was aimed at healing the discord between the Imperial throne and the powerful Mongol clans from which she sprang. The emperor’s affection for Xiao-Che aroused the jealousy of his mother Cixi who feared her influence.
Xiao-che showed considerable interest in matters of state, and her urging of her husband to assert his new authority (1873) caused an open antagonsim to spring up between the two women, which caused serious ruptures which were witnessed by the entire court. Suddenly (Dec, 1874) the emperor contracted smallpox, and Xiao-Che is said to have been beaten and forcibly removed from his prescence by order of the empress dowager, who now accused her of trying to bring about a relapse in his condition. The emperor died several weeks later (Jan 12, 1875).
Prevented from exercising any influence during the reign of the infant Emperor Guangxu, Xio-Che continued her rebellious attitude towards her mother-in-law. Three months after her husband’s death she finally committed suicide, poisoning herself with an overdose of opium (March 27, 1875). Sources that claim she was grief-stricken and starved herself to death remain dubious.
Xiao-Chen see Ci-An
Xiaocheng – (1653 – 1674)
Chinese empress consort
Xiaocheng was born (Nov 26, 1653) into the noble Heseri clan, being the daughter of Gabula, and niece of Songgotu. She became the first wife (1665) of the emperor Kangxi (1654 – 1722) of the Manchu Qing dynasty, and was sometimes known as Empress Heseri, due to her family of origin. Her first son died young (1673). Empress Xiaocheng died (June 16, 1674) aged only twenty, from the effects of bearing her second son, Prince Yinreng, who was later created crown prince by his father (1676).
Xiaoci Gao (Hsiao-Tz’u) – (1575 – 1603)
Chinese empress of Manchuria
Born Monggo Gege, she was the youngest daughter of Prince Yangginu of the powerful and influential Yehe Nara clan. She was married at the early age of thirteen (1588) to the emperor Nurhaci and was immediately granted the Imperial title. She was the mother of the Emperor Hing Taiji (1592).The empress died (Oct 31, 1603) aged twenty-eight. Three decades later she was granted the posthumous name and title of Empress Xiaoci Gao (1636).
Xiao Ding – (1868 – 1913)
Last Chinese empress dowager (1909 – 1911)
Also known as Long-Yu, she was the daughter of Kuei-hsiang, and was niece of Empress Cixi. Cixi chose her to marry her own son, Xiao’s cousin the Emperor Guangxu (Kuang-hsu) (1871 – 1908). Their marriage remained childless. Forced to flee from the Imperial city during the Boxer Rebellion (1899 – 1902) to the safety of Xi’an, she appears to have acted as a spy for her aunt against her husband, whose reforming zeal she feared.
With Cixi’s death (Nov 15, 1908) and Guangxu having already died, the throne passed to the three year old Pu Yi, the great nephew of Cixi and nephew of Xiao Ding. The boy’s father Prince Chun II ruled as regent with Xiao Ding as empress dowager. With the proclamation of a republic (1911), the empress dowager remained within the court in the Imperial City. At her death her apartments were looted by her eunuchs which crime was never punished.
Xiao Duan Wen – (1599 – 1674)
Chinese empress consort of the Manchu dynasty
Xiao Duan Wen was born (May 13, 1599) with the name Jere, and was the daughter of Manjusri Noyan, the first Prince Fu of the Borjijite clan. She was married (1614) to the Taizong emperor Huang Taiji, as his first official concort. The princess bore three daughters, the princesses Makata (1625 – 1663), Ching-Tuan (1628 – 1686), and Yungan (1634 – 1692).
With the subsequent establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Xiao Duan Wen was accorded the Imperial titles and styles. With her husband’s death she was officially proclaimed as Empress Dowager (1643), with presidence over the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, mother of the emperor Shunzhi. Empress Xaio Duan Wen died (May 17, 1649) aged fifty.
Xiao Hong see Hong, Xiao
Xiaogong Ren – (1660 – 1723)
Chinese empress consort
Xiaogong Ren was the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Wei-wu of the Wuya clan. She became the fourth wife of the emperor Kangxi (1654 – 1722) of the Qing dynasty, and was the mother of several children, including Prince Yinzhen (1678 – 1735), who succeeded his father as Emperor Yongzheng (1722 – 1735). Xiaogong Ren was granted the official title of Te Pin (1679) and then that of Te Fei (1682) after the birth of second son.
Of her five subsequent children, only Prince Yinti (1688 – 1755) survived to adulthood, whilst her only surviving daughter Princess Wenxian (1683 – 1702) died aged nineteen. With the death of Emperor Kangxi and the accession of her son Yongzheng she was granted the style of Empress Dowager Renshou (1722 – 1723). The empress died aged sixty-four, and was given the posthumous title of Empress Xiaogong Ren.
Xiaosheng Xian – (1692 – 1777)
Chinese empress consort
Xiaosheng Xian was the daughter of Ling-chu, first Prince Liangrong, and the granddaughter of Prince Eidu of the powerful Niuhuru clan. She became the wife (1705) of Prince Yinzhen (1678 – 1735) of the Manchu Qing dynasty, who later succeeded his father Kangxi as emperor (1722 – 1735). After giving birth to a male heir Prince Hongli (1711), the future Emperor Qianlong, she was granted the title of Xi Fei (1723) followed by that of Xi Kuai Fei (1724).
With the death of her husband and the accession of her son she became the Empress Dowager Xiaosheng Xian. Her son always remained devoted and respectful towards her, placing great importance upon her advice, and she was a greatly respected figure. She always travelled with the emperor, but when she became too frail for travel, he himself did without in order to remain near to her. Empress Xiaosheng Xian died at the age of eighty-five.
Xiao Zhuan – (1813 – 1840)
Chinese empress
Xiao Zhuan was born into the powerful Niuhuru clan and became the second wife of the emperor Daoguang (Tao-Kuang) (1782 – 1850) being accorded the Imperial title. She was the mother of two of his sons, the future emperor Xianfeng (Hsien-Feng) (1831 – 1861) and Prince Tun (1831 – 1899), both of whom left descendants.
Xiao Zhuang Wen (Hsiao Tuan Chuang) – (1613 – 1688)
Chinese empress consort
Xiao Zhuang Wen was born (March 28, 1613) the daughter of Borjigit, a prince of the Horqin Mongols, and was a descendant of Jenghiz Khan. She was given the name Bumbutai at birth. She became the wife (1625) of the Manchu emperor Huang Taiji (1626 – 1643), to whom she bore three daughters, and a son, Prince Fu Lin (born 1638), later the emperor Shun Zhi. With her husband’s death her son was installed as emperor, and her brother-in-law Duoergun (Dorgon) was installed as regent.
The empress is believed to have secretly remarried to Duoergun. When her son came of age the empress remained apart from political affairs, and historians have always questioned the real nature of the relationship between mother and son. With Shun Zhi’s early death (1661), her great grandson Kan Xi (1654 – 1722) became emperor at the age of eight years. The Empress Dowager was asked to form a regency government, and appointed the well experienced ministers, Oboi, Sonin, Suksaha, and Ebilun, who had served her late son. With the death of Kang Xi’s mother, the Dowager Empress took formal control of both his upbringing and education. Empress Xiao Zhuang Wen died (Jan 27, 1688) aged seventy-four. She was interred in the Chao-ling Mausoleum, near Shenyang. Her daughters were,
Xie Fanjing – (fl. 478 – 479 AD)
Chinese empress consort of the Liu Song Dynasty
Xie Fanjing was the daughter of Xie Yang, a minor Imperial official, and was descended through her grandfather from Xie Wan, brother to the powerful minister Xie An during the former Jin Dynasty. Xie Fanjing was married whilst very young (478 AD) to Shun, the last emperor of the Liu Song. He was forced to yield the throne to General Xiao Daocheng (479 AD), who created the former emperor Prince of Ruyin, though he was soon killed by his bodyguard. A general massacre of male members of the the Liu Song Dynasty then ensued. Though there remains no specific mention of Empress Xie Fanjing at this time, she is traditionally believed to have survived this purge of her family.
Ximena Fernandez – (c967 – after 1035)
Queen consort of Navarre (994 – 999)
Ximena Fernandez was the daughter of Fernando Vermudez, Count of Cea, and his wife Elvira Diaz, the daughter of Diego Munoz, Count of Saldanha. She was married (c980) to Garcia IV Sanchez (c964 – 999), King of Navarre and became the mother of King Sancho III the Great (992 – 1035). She survived both husband and son as queen dowager.
Ximena Garcia – (c853 – before 912)
Queen consort of the Asturias (866 – c905)
Xenia Garcia was the daughter of Garcia I Iniguez, King of Navarrem and his first wife Urraca of Aragon. She was married (869) to Alfonso III the Great (848 – Dec 10, 910), king of the Asturias, Galicia and Leon, who was deposed (c905) and was the mother of King Ordono II Alfonsez (c873 – 924). Living in 908, she survived Alfonso briefly as queen mother and died before June, 912.
Ximena Ordonez – (fl. c1040 – c1070)
Spanish Infanta
Ximena Ordonez was the daughter of Ordono Vermudez, Infant of Leon, and his wife Fronilda Pelayez, the daughter of Pelayo Rodriguez, and was the paternal granddaughter of Vermudo II el Gotoso, King of the Asturias and Leon.
Ximena married (c1040) Nuno Rodriguez de Guzman, Count of Amaya, and their daughter Ximena Nunez de Guzman (c1053 – 1128) became the mistress of Alfonso VI, King of Castile. Through this relationship the elder Ximena became the maternal grandmother of Teresa, the first queen of Portugal (c1116 – 1130).
Xira, Costanza – (fl. c1420 – 1450)
Portugese virgin saint
Together with her companion Maria Fernandez, Constanza took vows of chastity, and resided at Evora. They survived by doing embroidery and relying on alms provided for them by the pious. Their reputation for religious sanctity attracted so many visitors and pilgrims, that the church of St Monica, under Augustinian rule was built for them. Costanza became prioress and Mary Fernandez sub-prioress. The chuch honoured their memory together (May 30).
Xirgu, Margarita – (1888 – 1969)
Spanish stage actress
Xirgu was born (June 18, 1888). Xirgu was a close friend to the poet Federico Garcia Lorca, and during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, she was forced into exile and resided in the USA. She was most noted for appearances in such plays as Como tu me Deseas, Mariana Pineda and La Casa de Bernarda Alba. Margarita Xirgu died (April 25, 1969) in Uruguay in South America.
Xi Shi (Pinyin) – (c506 – c473 BC)
Chinese concubine
Xi Shi lived at Zhuji in the ancient capital of Ye. She was trained as a courtesan, and given to Fu Chai, King of Wu, by Gou Juan, King of Yue, with other women, as part of his tribute. Famous for her beauty, so much so that she became renowned as one of the ‘Four Beauties’ of ancient China, Xi Shi became the king’s favourite, and it was at her behest, that the king had his favourite minister, Wu Zixu, killed. When Fu Chai committed suicide after the defeat of his army at the hands of Gou Juan, the victor is said to have ordered Xi Shi to be drowned, so that he would not be tempted by her beauty. The Xi Shi Temple, at the foot of the Zhou Lou Hill, at Lingyan, was built in her memory.
Xiumin, Gao – (1959 – 2005)
Chinese television actress and comedienne
Gao Xiumin was popular in national television, particularly when acting in concert with Zhao Benshan. She portrayed the character Ding Xiang in the television series Liu Laogen.
Xosroviduxt (Khosrovidukht) – (fl. c700 – c750)
Armenian hymnographer and poet
Xosroviduxt was of royal blood and lineage. She resided in protective custody, safe from the invading Turks, for twenty years, at the fortress of Ani-Kamakh (Kemah).
Xu – (c50 – after 18 BC)
Chinese empress
Xu was the first wife of the Emperor Chengdi (51 – 7 BC), who reigned (33 – 7 BC). Married around the time of Chengdi’s accession, Empress Xu bore him no male heir. The emperor eventually fell in love with a lowborn concubine and deposed Xu from her Imperial title and position (18 BC), elevating her rival to her former position.
Xuchimatzatzin – (fl. c1500 – 1522)
Aztec queen
Xuchimatzin was the daughter of the Aztec emperor Montezuma II. She was married (c1510) to her cousin Cuauhtemoc, who briefly succeeded her father as Emperor in 1520 – 1521, and to whom she bore eight children. He also married her sister (or half-sister) Tecuichpo, though this marriage remained childless. During the uprising against the conquistador Hernando Cortes and his army (1521), the royal family removed to the city of Tlateloko.
When her husband was forced to surrender to Cortes, he had the queen brought before him with her household, and is said to have treated her with admirable gallantry, though she was placed under house-arrest with her attendants. The Spanish renamed her ‘Maria.’ Her husband was kept a prisoner and eventually hanged at Cortes’s order (1525). The fate of Queen Xuchimatzatzin remains unknown. She may have died in captivity. One of her sons known as Diego de Mendioza Austria y Moctezuma, was granted a coat of arms by the Hapsburg emperor Charles V (1541).
Xue Tao (Hsueh T’ao) – (760 – 832)
Chinese poet
Xue Tao was a native of the Tang city of Xian, the daughter of a minor official. With her father’s death, she remained with her mother at Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. There Xue Tao became a professional singer and courtesan in order to support her mother, and became a noted poet of the Tang Dynasty. Xue Tao became the favoured concubine of Wei Gao, the military governor of the province, who installed her in his own residence, where she met the poets Bo Juyi and Yuan Zhen, with the latter of whom she may have indulged in a secret liasion.
With Wei’s death (805) he left Xue Tao financially independent. She may have become a Daoist priestess before her death. Her skill in calligraphy is attested, and her poetry was inscribed on vividly dyed paper which she produced herself. Of her credited five hundred verses which were once included in The Brocade River Collection, only one hundred survive today.
Xu Mu – (fl. c660 BC)
Chinese poet and leader
Xu Mu was the first recorded female verse writer in Chinese history. She was born into the Ji clan and was a princess of the Wei state, niece to King Yi, and sister to kings Dai and Wen. She became the wife of Xu Mu, king of the Xu people, and was known as ‘Lady Xu Mu.’ When her home kingdom and dynasty were threatened with invasion, the queen began travelling home by chariot, soliciting military assistance from neighbouring states along the journey.
However agents from the Xu court were sent to deter her from this course of action, and the queen was forced to return to the Xu kingdom. Despite this neighbouring princes and rulers, fearing for the safety of their own smaller kingdoms, answered her call, and the Wei state was successfully rescued through intervention from the Qi. Several of Lady Xu Mu’s famous poems survive such as ‘Bamboo Pole’ and ‘Spring Water’ which dealt with the theme of homesickness, and ‘Chariot Speeding’ which was much admired.
Xu Pingjun – (c90 – 71 BC)
Chinese empress
Xu Pingjun was the daughter of Xu Guanghan, an Imperial attendant under Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who had been castrated for a misdemeanour, and then served as a minor official. She became the first wife (c76 BC) of Liu Bingyi, who became the emperor Xuan, as part of a political cabal at the Imperial court organized by the powerful official Zhang He. Xu Pingjun’s kinsman supported her princely husband prior to his unexpected gaining of the throne (75 BC), and she bore him a son and heir, Liu Shi. Xu Pingjun had been created imperial consort, but the emperor’s advisers wanted him to marry the daughter of the regent Huo Guang and make her empress.
Xuan managed to avoid this plan and Xu Pingjum was accorded the Imperial titles and styles (74 BC), being sometimes known as Gong’ai. However the wife of Huo Guang, furious that her daughter had been denied the Imperial style, bribed the physicians and poisoned the young empress with aconitum, shortlyafter she had given birth to a second son, who appears to have died young. She was buried with Imperial honours, near her husband and his last wife, Empress Wang. Her son Liu Shi lived to crown prince, and later the emperor Yuan.