王昭君出关故事 英语

THE INMITABLE WANG ZHAOJUN

For 2,000 years the marriage of Wang Zhaojun has been a popular motif for composers, writers, poets and painters. What kind of a woman would volunteer to be married off to a powerful neighbor in order to secure a temporary peace? Such a figure needs to be assessed against the background of her times. Was she merely a miserable pawn or a person of remarkable integrity? Does she deserve praise or merely sympathy?

Wang Zhaojun, who came from a humble family, was selected for the harem of Emperor Yuandi (reigned 49–33 B.C.). At that time, the Xiongnu (Huns) on China's northern border were beginning to respond to military pressure from the Han Empire. The time was ripe to consolidate the progress made in Han-Xiongnu relations. Among the measures the imperial court took was to give Zhaojun in marriage to Huhanye, King of the Southern Xiongnu. According to historians, the proposal to link the two people through marriage came from Huhanye