The term appears in the song “Xiaoxing” 小星 [Small Star] from “Shaonan” 召南 [South of Shao] in Shijing 詩經 [The Book of Songs], while the Mao commentary explains the image of the small star as representing one’s concubines. Later, the term xiaoxing is used to refer to concubines in general.
Language and Culture Center (LCC) at Duke Kunshan University
