Daughter of the historian
班彪 and sister of
班固 and
班超, she was called to the palace to finish the
汉书 after Ban Gu's death, completing its tables and its treatise on astronomy. She taught the empress
邓绥 and the palace ladies, who called her
曹大家, 'Lady Cao', after her husband's family;
家 here has an old reading, gū, meaning 'lady'.
