Writers › Writer / Poet

Li Qingzhao

Song lyricist styled Yi'an who compiled the Records of Bronze and Stone with her husband Zhao Mingcheng and argued that the song lyric is a genre of its own

Also known as Li Yi'an · Yianjushi

Li Qingzhao, styled the Lay Recluse Yi'an, came from Zhangqiu in Qizhou (now part of Jinan, Shandong); her father Li Gefei won Su Shi's notice for his prose. In 1101 she married the student Zhao Mingcheng, and together they collected bronzes, stone inscriptions and paintings and compiled the *Records of Bronze and Stone* (*Jinshi lu*). After the Jingkang disaster they fled south, Zhao died in 1129, and most of the collection was lost in the years of flight. Song writers record that in 1132 she married Zhang Ruzhou and soon sued for separation, an episode later scholars have disputed. In the Shaoxing era she wrote an afterword to the *Records* telling the history of the collection, and in her 'Discourse on the Song Lyric' (*Cilun*) she judged earlier writers and held that the lyric was a genre apart from poetry. She is usually thought to have died around 1155. Her original collection is lost; the surviving *Rinsing Jade Lyrics* (*Shuyu ci*) is a later compilation of about fifty pieces.

Life and times

  1. 1084 CEBornSong
  2. 1101Yi'an Lyrics and EpigraphyTook partLi Qingzhao pioneered the acclaimed Yi'an lyric style and co-authored the 30-volume Jinshi Lu epigraphic corpus.
    1. Qingzhou Guilai Hall Epigraphy CompilationTwo decades of research at Guilai Hall collecting and cataloging ancient bronzes for Jinshi Lu.
    2. Southern Crossing and Patriotic Verse1127Guarding antiquities across the Yangtze amid war, penning timeless patriotic verses and lyrics.
    3. Epilogue to Jinshi Lu and Shuoyu1135Authoring the monumental Afterword to Jinshi Lu and finalizing the Shuoyu Ci lyrical canon.
  3. c. 1155 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Sayings20
    1. Things Remain, People Are GoneSongIdiom from Li Qingzhao's Spring at Wuling: things remain, but the people are gone
    2. Wine at Dusk by the Eastern HedgeSongLine from Li Qingzhao's Tipsy in the Flowers' Shade: lonely wine among chrysanthemums
    3. Gathering a Living From Above and BelowSongIdiom in Li Qingzhao's Postface to the Records of Bronze and Stone: ten quiet years of plenty
    4. Chill and Cheerless, Hushed and LonelySongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Sheng Sheng Man: the hush of a lonely widow's late years
    5. Bleak and Wretched, Full of GriefSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Sheng Sheng Man: grief after losing home, husband and country
    6. +15 more
      1. Gone from the Brow, Back in the HeartSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Yi Jian Mei: longing that leaves the brow only to fill the heart
      2. Song, Beauty, Hounds and HorsesSongIdiom found in Li Qingzhao's Afterword to the Records on Metal and Stone: a life of pleasures
      3. Searching, Seeking: Li Qingzhao's LamentSongAphorism from Li Qingzhao's Slow Tune: searching, seeking, for what is lost
      4. Just Gone From the Brows, Back Upon the HeartSongAphorism from Li Qingzhao's A Twig of Plum: longing that leaves the brow for the heart
      5. Gaining Day by Day, Advancing Month by MonthSongIdiom used by Li Qingzhao in her Afterword to Records on Metal and Stone: steady accumulation
      6. Hidden Fragrance Filling the SleevesSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Tipsy in the Flowers' Shade: chrysanthemum scent at Double Ninth
      7. Green Leaves Plump, Red Blossoms ThinSongIdiom from Li Qingzhao's Like a Dream: in late spring, leaves grow plump as blossoms thin
      8. One Longing Shared, Sorrow in Two PlacesSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Yi Jian Mei: one longing felt in two places at once
      9. Xiang Yu Would Not Cross Back East of the RiverSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Summer Quatrain: Xiang Yu chose death over retreat
      10. Thinner Than the Yellow Chrysanthemums: Li Qingzhao's Double NinthSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Zui Hua Yin: pining thinner than the chrysanthemums
      11. How Could One Word Like Sorrow Hold It AllSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Shengshengman: a grief too vast for one word
      12. In Death, Still a Hero Among the ShadesSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Summer Quatrain, praising a spirit unbowed even in death
      13. In Life, Be a Hero Among MenSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Summer Quatrain: in life, be a hero among men
      14. Petals Drift Down as the River Flows OnSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Yi Jian Mei: fleeting youth and a longing that will not ease
      15. Too Laden with Sorrow to FloatSongFamous line from Li Qingzhao's Wu Ling Chun: a grief too heavy for any boat to carry
  2. Literature · Lyrics9
    1. Slow, Slow Song · Searching and SeekingSongLi Qingzhao's late ci in southern exile, opening with fourteen doubled characters of loss
    2. A Spray of Plum Blossoms · Lotus Blossoms FadeSongLi Qingzhao's early ci of longing for her travelling husband Zhao Mingcheng in autumn
    3. Tune: Ru Meng Ling — I Often Recall Dusk at the Stream PavilionSongLi Qingzhao's youthful short lyric of a tipsy dusk outing that strays deep into the lotus
    4. Tune: Zui Hua Yin — Thin Mist, Dense Clouds, a Long Day of SorrowSongLi Qingzhao's Double Ninth ci for her absent husband, pale and thin as the chrysanthemums
    5. Spring at Wuling — The Wind Has Stilled, the Dust Is FragrantSongLi Qingzhao's lyric from refuge in Jinhua, widowed and uprooted, grief too heavy for a boat
    6. +4 more
      1. Ru Meng Ling · Last Night the Rain Was Sparse and the Wind GustySongLi Qingzhao's early lyric of a hungover morning question about the begonias after a storm
      2. Recalling the Flute on Phoenix Terrace · Incense Cold in the Gold LionSongLi Qingzhao's long ci of a listless morning before a parting and a gaze that adds new sorrow
      3. Charm of Niannu · A Desolate CourtyardSongLi Qingzhao's long ci of a cold spring before Cold Food and longing she cannot send
      4. Joy of Lasting Meeting · The Setting Sun Like Molten GoldSongLi Qingzhao's long ci setting a Lantern Festival of the past against a lonely, aging present
  3. Literature · Poetry1
    1. Summer Quatrain (Living as a Hero)SongLi Qingzhao's quatrain after fleeing south, invoking Xiang Yu's last stand to shame the Song
  4. Literature · Prose1
    1. Afterword to the Records of Metal and StoneSongLi Qingzhao's 1132 afterword to her late husband's catalogue: their collection and its loss

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Li Gefei
    Father
    Li Qingzhao
    Husband
    Zhao Mingcheng