The fabled middle Tang dynasty of China lasted almost three hundred years (618–905). These centuries embodied martial conflict, unbelievable wealth and opulence for a few, and horrible poverty for many. Through it all, an unwieldy caste system governed lord and serf alike. In this exotic, beautiful, and forbidding culture, poetry was revered and practiced by many. Three women poets, especially, endured through the centuries as the voices of their time. For the first time in English, the poetry of the Taoist priestesses, Le Yi and Yu Xuanji, and the slave, Xue Tao is presented.