The Qinhuai River had anciently been called Qingxi. Its eastern source lay in Jurong and its southern source in Lishui; the two converged at Fangshan Embankment, skirted Jiankang from west to east, and emptied into the Yangtze River. The carriage procession of young Lady Tongyun, a daughter of the great Zhang Clan of Wu Commandery, had followed the southern bank of the Jurong Qingxi downstream.
Chen Caozhi and Liu Shangzhi accompanied Gu Kaizhi ten li beyond Qingxi Gate to welcome her, meeting the Zhang Residence's procession at White Goose Mountain. Also accompanying Zhang Tongyun to the capital was Zhang Mo's eldest son, Zhang Xuan Zhi, whose courtesy name was Zuxi. Just twenty, he had been exceptionally clever since childhood and was an outstanding talent among the scions of the great clans of the Three Wu. He enjoyed a reputation equal to Kong Wang's and, together with Xie Xuan, was known as the Two Xuans of the North and South.
Only upon seeing Zhang Xuan Zhi did Chen Caozhi recall that Gu Kaizhi's fiancée, Zhang Tongyun, was also a celebrated worthy woman in history. "Worthy Women" in Shishuo New Words recorded: "Xie E held his elder sister in the highest esteem, while Zhang Xuan often praised his younger sister, wishing to set her against the other. A certain Nun Ji frequented both the Zhang and Xie households. When someone asked which was superior, she replied, 'Lady Wang is open and untrammeled in spirit, possessing the air of one beneath the forest trees; the Gu family's wife has a pure heart that shines like jade, a true flower of the inner chambers.'"
Xie E was Xie Xuan, and Lady Wang was Xie Daoyun. Shishuo New Words also contained another account of Xie Daoyun: "Wang Jiangzhou's wife said to Xie E, 'Why have