ABSTRACT
Queen Xiaowu (ca. 135-106 B.C.), a court dancer, also known as Queen Hanwu and Lady Li, became one of the favorite wives of Liu Che, the Emperor Han Wu or Wudi (r. 141-87 B.C.). She was bom north of Zhongshan, in modern-day Ding county, He bei province, during the Western (Former) Han dynasty. Her parents were singers and dancers, and she and her brothers and sisters were trained and skilled in these arts. Queen Xiaowu’s brother, Li Yannian, was a famous musician who had been cas trated as punishment for a crime and had once been reduced to feeding the emperor’s hounds. Nonetheless Li Yannian was al lowed to sing and dance periodically for Emperor Wudi, who liked him. Li Yannian was often called upon to sing a special song:
Li Yannian was asked by Wudi to identify this girl; the emperor discovered her identity to be Li’s sister and soon summoned her to join his court. So beautiful and skilled in dancing was she that Wudi fell in love with her and married her, naming her his fourth wife.
