蔡文姬, daughter of the Han scholar
蔡邕, was carried off by the Xiongnu in the 190s and lived among them for twelve years before
曹操 ransomed her; she had to leave her two sons behind. The poem tells that story in eighteen sections, each a
拍, a stanza of music, and opens
我生之初尚无为，
我生之后汉祚衰 'when I was born the world was still at peace; after my birth the Han began to fail'. Whether she really wrote it is still debated.
