Wu Zao

Wu Zao (Chinese: 吴藻; 1799 – 1862) was a Chinese poet. She was also known as Wu Pingxiang.

The daughter of a merchant, she was born in the town of Renhe in Zhejiang province. She married a merchant named Huang. She was famous as a lyrics (ci) writer and was considered to be one of the best ci poets of the Qing dynasty. She also wrote poetry in the sanqu form. She was said to be a good player of the qin, a stringed instrument. Wu wrote an opera (zaju) Yinjiu du Sao (Drinking wine and studying: Encountering Sorrow). Two collections of her works were published: Hualian ci (Flower curtain lyrics) and Xiangnan xuebei ci (Lyrics from Xiangnan xuebei). She became a student of the poet Chen Wenshu. Wu converted to Buddhism later in life.