Zuo Xijia

• Zuo Xijia was a female painter and poet of the Qing dynasty. Her courtesy name was Yunqing, with the alternative name Xiaoyun and another courtesy name Huanfen. After becoming a widow, she changed her name to Bingru. She was from Yanghu (present-day Changzhou, Jiangsu). She was the younger sister of Zuo Xixuan and the sixth daughter of her family. Skilled in poetry and painting, she studied the boneless painting technique of Yun Shouping. During the Xianfeng period, after the death of her husband, she created the painting "Solitary Boat Returning to Shu," which was highly praised at the time. Along with her sisters Zuo Xihui and Zuo Xixuan, she was known as one of the "Three Talented Women of the Zuo Family."