Ban Zhao's Lessons

Portrait by Jim Guliang. The woodcut was published around 1690, early i n the Qing dynasty and hundreds of years after Ban Zhao lived. The image i s obviously the artist's invention, and illustrates not Ban Zhao her- self, but her legacy. (Wan-go Weng Archive)

Ban Zhao's manual about women was reprinted frequently, all the way through the 19th century. Artists who sketched Ban Zhao reflected the author's ongoing importance, but since they had no idea what she actually looked like, they tried to convey what seemed suitable' to them in light of her legacy.