Wu Zao is usually regarded as the third woman poet of ancient China, after Li Ch’ing-chao and Chu Shu-chen.
The poems by Li and Chu share themes that justified their intention for writing, like "loneliness and grief after her husband died" as well as a sombre tone that fit more into the trend of "feminine sensitivity" in ancient Chinese poetry culture.
Reflecting on her writing process, Wu rather set herself apart from the two:
“Not to lean over the balcony where autumn worries are whispered/ with outspokenness/ we shall break the railing of earth and sky. ”
She wrote with casual style, personal tone, and clearly homoerotic verse.
In her twenties, she washed off her makeup, tied up her hair and dressed in men's clothing. Unlike Mulan, this was out of Wu's own expression and longing.
She went on outings among male poets, rowed down the river while singing, and didn't return until drunk.
After dusk, she wandered around the "red-light district" in Suzhou, and flirted with women. It is said that a performance artist named Qinglin fell in love with her. Not declaring her true identity, Wu wrote Qinglin a poem as a gift:
“Same as the many women with a gift for poetry,
only I / am the crazy one,
have to take in / the promises of a jade-like beauty.
As misty waves / engulf the many lakes of Spring,
Wait for / a boat painted in red/ that shall/ carry you away with me.”
Traveling around the country hand in hand with entertainers was the stereotypical life style of male poets in ancient China. But in Wu's poems, the women were given the equal status and devotion was declared by the poet. By the lakeside, in the mist of spring, the two understood and appreciated each other.
Although there were male poets in her orbit, she hung out more often with talented women.
In her three poems each addressed to Yuanlan, Yunxiang, and Shanbao, Wu used plum blossom and water lilies as metaphors for the three women's poet chic.
Around the year of 1826, a women's literature group named The Jade City, House of the Fairies was initiated by her teacher, where Wu chanted poems and discussed paintings with her fellow soulmates.
Their gatherings were followed with long separation
“From now on/ every chilly moonlit night / we tremble/ at each end of the sky."
In later years, eight of her poems were devoted to the remembrance of that time.
“Wu Zao | Legacy Project Chicago.” Legacy Project Chicago, https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/wu-zao. Accessed 7 Dec. 2021.
https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1672970856714246830&wfr=spider&for=pc
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