"Zhao E, the mother of Pang Yu (Pang Yu Mu Zhao E), fl. 179, also known as Eqin, was the daughter of Zhao An (or Jun An) of Fulu District (present-day Jiuchuan in Gansu Province). She is known by her zi, E, her given name being unknown. Her son, Pang Yu, was appointed Marquis of Guannei (guannei hou) during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Wei dynasty.
According to the biography of Pang Yu in the History of the Wei Dynasty (Wei shu), the Record of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo zhi), and Huangfu Mi’s Biographies of Eminent Women (Lienü zhuan), Zhao E’s father was killed by a man named Li Shou of the same district. Li Shou was so well protected, however, that none of Zhao E’s three younger brothers was able to avenge their father’s death before they themselves died in a plague. Overjoyed at the news of their deaths, Li Shou invited his clansmen to a celebration where he announced:
“All the strong ones of the Zhao clan are now dead and only a weak daughter remains. I need worry no longer.”
He therefore began to let his guard down. Zhao E was enraged when she heard from her son what Li Shou had said and tearfully she vowed:
“Li Shou, don’t you be happy. I will not let you live, for that would bring shame on the three sons of our family. How can you be so sure that Eqin cannot kill you with her own hands? You are not as lucky as you think.”
Harboring vengeance for her father’s death, she secretly bought a famous sword and sharpened it day and night, even as she honed her hatred for Li Shou. Hearing of this, Li Shou resumed his old habit of vigilance, wearing his sword at his belt when he rode out on his horse. He was a vicious man of whom the villagers were terrified. A neighbor of Zhao E, a Madame Xu, tried to dissuade her from her mission, saying:
“Li Shou is a man accustomed to violence. He is also on his guard. No matter how great your determination, you are no match for him and catastrophe will befall you when you find yourself unable to kill him. He will wipe out your entire household, causing untold pain and humiliation. For the sake of your family, I ask you to recon- sider your plan.”
To this Zhao E replied:
“It is wrong to share the same heaven and earth, sun and moon with the murderer of one’s parent; if Li Shou lives, I cannot. Now that all my male siblings are dead, I must seek revenge. If I did as you say, no one would kill Li Shou, and I would not be able to live with myself.”
Her family and neighbors scoffed at these words, but Zhao E continued:
“Well may you laugh at me, a mere woman, vowing to kill Li Shou, but you will see when I stain this blade with the blood of Li Shou’s neck.”
Zhao E became obsessed with Li Shou, abandoning all else to stalk him from a small cart in which she rode. On a fine day early in the second month of 179, she finally confronted him at the metropolitan post-house in Jiuquan. Descending from her cart, she grabbed the bridle of his horse and began to abuse him. When Li Shou tried to yank his horse away, Zhao E lashed out with her sword, wounding both him and the horse. Li Shou was thrown from his horse and landed in the gutter, where Zhao E fell on him, stabbing him repeatedly with her sword. She did not manage to kill him, however, and in her wild haste she broke her sword on a tree. She tried to grab Li Shou’s sword, but he continued to resist, all the while calling loudly for help. He attempted to get up but Zhao E held him down with her left hand, hitting him repeatedly across the throat with her right fist. When he finally stopped struggling she chopped off his head with his sword.
Having killed Li Shou, Zhao E went straight to the district office to give herself up and then started walking toward the jail. The magistrate, however, could not bring himself to sentence her and was ready to hang up his seal and resign from his position, allowing Zhao E to abscond. One version of the story has Zhao E and the magistrate running away together at this point. But Zhao E was determined to pay for her deed.
“Having killed my enemy, I should die. Clearly, this is my lot. As a magistrate, you are responsible for administering the laws and meting out punishment; I dare not treasure my life at the expense of the law.”
News of Zhao E’s integrity attracted a crowd of awed onlookers and even her guards were moved, to the extent that they intimated to her that they would look the other way were she to run away. An emotional Zhao E told them:
“It is not my wish to escape death at the cost of contravening the law. Now that I have wrought vengeance it is right that I die. I beg you to let me bear the full force of the law so that good government will not be jeopardized. I would rather give my life ten thousand times than destabilize the law.”
When the guards still would not listen, she said:
“I may be just a humble woman, but I do understand the law, and I know that the crime of murder is not pardonable. I do not want to run away, I want to receive the punishment due for my crime and be executed in the marketplace in order to uphold the emperor’s law.”
She showed no sign of fear but grew increasingly fervent, so the guards stopped arguing and simply bundled her into a carriage and took her home. Another version is that she did go to jail but was granted amnesty and was able to go home.
Several people, including Zhou Hong, the regional inspector of Liangzhou, and Liu Ban, the governor of Jiuquan, memorialized the emperor about Zhao E’s integrity, and her story was inscribed on a stone stele so that her family might be glorified. Zhang Huan, who held the position of chamberlain for ceremonies (taichang), presented her with twenty bolts of silk out of admiration for her actions. Zhao E’s act of revenge was recorded in official histories and spread far and wide by word of mouth, while men of letters of later ages immortalized her in biographies and poetry. Liang Kuan of late Eastern Han, for instance, wrote her biography, and Zuo Yannian of the Three Kingdoms period praised her integrity in his ballad Qinnü xiu xing. Qinnü xiu xing is also the title of a poem written by Fu Xuan of Western Jin telling of a woman who braved the powerful to avenge her father, and then gave herself up. In this latter poem the woman is called Pang’s wife and one line runs, “One good daughter is worth one hundred sons.”"
Shen Lidong, "Zhao E", in: Xiao Hong Lee Lily, Stefanowska A. D. (eds.), Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Antiquity Through Sui 1600 B.C.E.–618 C.E.
Was Pang Yu of any relevance in history? His mother seems to get a sorta spotlight recently. Where her history was recorded and what was her real name? I've seem her name as Pang E, Zhao E and Zhao Eqin. What are your thoughts about her possible addition for DW9?
Pang Yu was a pretty minor figure, though an interesting one.
In 206, he was a county magistrate in Jincheng commandery, in Liang. At that time, the Administrator of Wuwei Zhang Meng killed the provincial inspector Handan Shang, and threatened to punish anyone who carried out mourning for him. Pang Yu left his post and carried out mourning rites for Handan Shang anyway. Then he went to Zhang Meng’s home, planning to kill him. He was unsuccessful, but Zhang Meng decided to forgive Pang Yu in recognition of his excellent loyalty and righteousness.
Pang Yu thus gained a reptuation as a man of honor, and the administrator of Jiuquan - Xu Yi - made him a staff officer. Around 210, the warlord Huang An attacked and besieged the city. Pang Yu escaped, leaving his family behind, and sought help from the administrators of Zhangye and Dunhuang. At first, these men didn’t trust Pang Yu, but he threatened to kill himself if they didnt’ help. This persuaded them and Pang Yu led a relief force to Jiuquan. Tragically, he arrived too late and Xu Yi was already dead. Pang Yu conducted mourning for him.
Word of Pang Yu’s courage and honor reached Cao Cao, who made him a staff officer. Pang Yu assisted Cao Cao with his operations in Liang and served as an administrator under Cao Pi. When he got older, he served in Cao Rui’s court until he passed away.
Pang Yu certainly seems to have taken after his mother. The HHS gives her name as Zhào É (赵娥) - I’m not sure which source adds qīn (亲) to it. After most of her family died off, she avenged her husband’s murder by stabbing his killer to death in broad daylight. She turned herself in afterwards but was pardoned.
Zhao E strikes me as an odd person to include. The famous incident when she avenged her father took place in the late 170s, before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. She was an interesting and impressive woman, but squeezing her in seems a little odd. I wouldn’t necessarily be upset about it, but it would be kind of strange.
