Liu Rushi

Liu Rushi
1847 portrait of Liu Rushi, ink on paper, by Lu Ji and Cheng Tinglu
Born	Yang Yunjuan 1618 Jiaxing, Zhejiang
Died	1664
Resting place	Mount Yu, Changshu, Jiangsu
Nationality	Chinese
Other names	Liu Shi, Liu Yin, Yang Yin, Yang Yinglian, Yang Ai, Hedong
Occupation	Courtesan and poet
Known for	Poetry, marriage to Qian Qianyi

Liu Rushi (Chinese: 柳如是; pinyin: Liú Rúshì; Wade–Giles: Liu Ju-shih; 1618–1664), also known as Liu Shi, Liu Yin and Yang Yin, was a Chinese courtesan and poet in the late Ming dynasty who married Qian Qianyi at the age of 25. She committed suicide on the death of her husband. She famously exchanging verses with Chen Zilong, and was noted for her painting.

She was friends with fellow courtesan Chen Yuanyuan, who was the concubine of Wu Sangui.

Believed to have been born in Jiaxing, Liu was sold by her family as a concubine to the Prime Minister Zhou Daodeng. At the age of thirteen, a scandal led to her expulsion from Zhou's household, and she was sold to a brothel in Suzhou. At seventeen, she had her first major love affair, with the painter Tang Shuda. Already a noted poet and painter herself at this early age, she met Chen Zilong in 1635 and lived with him for about a year, eventually leaving after his family disapproved of their liaison. After leaving Chen, she managed a brothel in Wujiang. An affair with the artist Wang Janming ended when Wang failed to attend an appointment with her at the Rainbow Pavilion. Another affair with Song Yuanwen, a government official, ended when his vacillations over marriage resulted in Liu smashing her lute and storming off in a fit of pique.

In 1640 Liu embarked on a campaign to marry the respected scholar Qian Qianyi. Dressed in men's clothing, she accosted Qian and requested his opinion on one of her poems. Qian apparently believed her to be a man, but later in the year he had established her at a specially built hermitage in the grounds of his Suzhou estate, called the "According to Sutra Studio". They married in 1641, whilst on a river cruise; Qian bestowing upon his bride the new name of Hedong. Although he married her as a concubine, Qian treated Liu as his principal wife, and they were married in a formal wedding ceremony. Her affinity for cross-dressing persisted after they were married; she regularly wore men's clothing whilst in public and on occasion made calls on her husband's behalf whilst dressed in his Confucian robes (this affectation earned her the nickname rushi, "Confucian Gentleman", which also puns on her chosen name Rushi).