Song Ruoxian

{{short description|Chinese Confucian scholar and poet}}

Song Ruoxian ({{lang|zh|宋若憲}}, 772–835), was a Chinese Confucian scholar and poet. She was one of five sisters, who all became employed as official poets at the Imperial court: Song Ruoshen ({{zh|c=宋若莘}}; 768–820), Song Ruozhao, Song Ruoxian, Song Ruolun ({{lang|zh|宋若倫}}) and Song Ruoxun ({{lang|zh|宋若荀}}).{{cite web|url=https://cbdb.fas.harvard.edu/cbdbapi/person.php?id=0093349|title=/宋若莘/Song Ruoshen}}{{Cite web |last=Bokenkamp |first=Stephen R. |date=2016-01-01 |title=Sisters of the Blood: The Lives behind the Xie Ziran Biography. {{!}} Daoism: Religion, History & Society {{!}} EBSCOhost |url=https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd:121636461?sid=ebsco:plink:crawler&id=ebsco:gcd:121636461 |access-date=2024-02-20 |website=openurl.ebsco.com |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Jia |first=Jinhua |date=2016-11-29 |title=Religious and Other Experiences of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/tpao/102/4-5/article-p321_2.xml |journal=T'oung Pao |language=en |volume=102 |issue=4–5 |pages=321–357 |doi=10.1163/15685322-10245P02 |issn=0082-5433|url-access=subscription }} She was the third eldest of the sisters.{{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Lily Xiao Hong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqNsBgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Song+Ruoxian%22&pg=PA370 |title=Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women, Volume II: Tang Through Ming 618 - 1644 |last2=Wiles |first2=Sue |date=2015-01-28 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-51562-3 |language=en}}

She was the daughter of the scholar Song Tingfen in Hebei and was given advanced education by her father. In 788, she and her sisters were all taken to court to be tested about their knowledge within Confucianism, History and the Classics. They excelled and each were given an office at court. They were employed as official court poets, performing their poetry at court festivities.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OS1aDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Song+Ruoxian%22&pg=PT9 |title=Willow, Wine, Mirror, Moon: Women's Poems from Tang China |date=2015-06-20 |publisher=BOA Editions, Ltd. |isbn=978-1-942683-01-8 |language=en}} Song and her sisters were highly respected at court, referred to by the emperor as teacher-scholars and never treated as concubines.

Song Ruoxian was given responsibility for the records, books, and accounts of the palace of Emperor Jingzong.{{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Lily Xiao Hong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw0pAwAAQBAJ&dq=Song+Ruoxian&pg=PA371 |title=Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming, 618-1644 |last2=Wiles |first2=Sue |date=2014-03-13 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-7656-4316-2 |language=en}} She was appointed to positions both 'matron' and 'inner academician'.{{Cite journal |last=Jia |first=Jinhua |date=2019-01-01 |title=New Poetry from the Turquoise Pond: Women Poets in Eighth and Ninth Century China |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07375034.2019.1676285 |journal=Tang Studies |language=en |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=59–80 |doi=10.1080/07375034.2019.1676285 |s2cid=214258851 |issn=0737-5034|url-access=subscription }}

In the reign of the succeeding emperor, Emperor Wenzong, Song Ruoxian encountered more difficulty, and was accused of conspiring; she may have been framed by a rival.{{Cite book |last1=辛子牛 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9CgOAAAAYAAJ&q=%E5%AE%8B%E8%8B%A5%E6%86%B2 |title=中国历代名案集成 |last2=张伯元 |last3=洪丕谟 |date=1997 |publisher=Fudan University Press |isbn=978-7-309-01863-9 |language=zh}} She was ordered to commit suicide, a decision the emperor later regretted.