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Li Xun

Former Shu lyricist of Persian descent from Zizhou whose southern-scene songs fill thirty-seven places in the Among the Flowers anthology

Also known as Zi Derun · Tusheng Bosi

Li Xun, courtesy name Derun, lived at Zizhou in Shu; his forebears were Persian merchants, and because he was born and raised in Shu he was nicknamed the 'native-born Persian'. He sat the examinations of the Former Shu state as a licentiate, and his sister Li Shunxian, a poet, became a consort of its last ruler, Wang Yan. His lyrics often describe the waterways and fishing villages of the south, and his set of 'Southern Country' songs portrays life in Lingnan. Zhao Chongzuo's Among the Flowers (Huajian ji), compiled under the Later Shu, includes thirty-seven of his lyrics, while his own collection, the Qiongyao ji, is lost. He also knew materia medica and wrote the Overseas Materia Medica (Haiyao bencao) on drugs imported from abroad; it too is lost, but passages survive in later pharmacopoeias.

Life and times

  1. c. 855 CEBornTangFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
  2. c. 930 CEDied

Works

  1. Literature · Lyrics35
    1. Silk-Washing Stream · Summer Calls for Light Make-upFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a lightly made-up beauty in early summer, given up and longed for again
    2. Silk-Washing Stream · Viewing Crab-Apple Blossom in the Quiet CourtFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a beauty in palace make-up viewing crab-apple blossom at dusk
    3. Silk-Washing Stream · Seeking Old Haunts, Grieving at PartingFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of old haunts revisited in fine rain, the beloved gone and only wine left
    4. Silk-Washing Stream · Red Lotus Scent at the RailingFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of summer lotus scent, memories of a lost love and a cicada's first song
    5. Fisherman's Song · Green Are the Hills of ChuFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a fisherman free among the green hills of Chu and the waters of the Xiang
    6. +25 more
      1. Fisherman's Song · Reed Flowers in AutumnFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a fisherman recluse on the Xiao and Xiang who cares nothing for fame
      2. Fisherman's Song · Willows Hang Their ThreadsFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a fisherman rowing home singing at spring dusk on the Chu shore
      3. Fisherman's Song · Mount Jiuyi and the Three Xiang WatersFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a carefree boatman with qin and wine by Mount Jiuyi and the Xiang
      4. A Cloud over Mount Wu · A Traveller Passes the Wu GorgeFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a traveller at the Wu Gorge grieving over the King of Chu's lost dream
      5. A Cloud over Mount Wu · The Old Temple by Green PeaksFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of an old temple and empty travelling palace, where gibbons deepen sorrow
      6. Immortal by the River · The Little Pavilion in the PoolFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a woman by a pool pavilion after summer rain, rereading a letter from afar
      7. Immortal by the River · Orioles Herald the Warm Red SunFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a woman rising languid on a spring morning, her old joys beyond finding
      8. Song of the Southland · Thick Mist and Chill RainFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a far traveller at a country ferry, homesick as the spring evening falls
      9. Song of the Southland · Orchid Oars RiseFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of lotus gatherers who meet deep in a winding pond and share a cup of wine
      10. Song of the Southland · The Way Home Is NearFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of pearl gatherers singing homeward by moonlight past drooping cardamom
      11. Song of the Southland · Riding a Painted BoatFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of girls on a painted boat in a lotus pond, shading themselves with leaves
      12. Song of the Southland · Pour the Green-Ant WineFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of girls drifting in a boat to escape the heat between banks of red lychees
      13. Song of the Southland · Clouds Bring RainFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of an old fisherman home from wind and rain, drinking and sleeping aboard
      14. Song of the Southland · The Sands Lie Still under the MoonFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a moonlit lotus pond and a boat girl who sings as she rows away
      15. Song of the Southland · The Fish Market DispersesFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a traveller waiting for the tide at dusk in the far south as apes cry
      16. Song of the Southland · Gathering Her Cloud-Like HairFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a girl in spring finery on outings below the King of Yue's Terrace
      17. Song of the Southland · Where We MetFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a meeting under coral trees and a girl who rides off on an elephant
      18. The Daoist Priestess · Stars High, Moon at MidnightFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a midnight Daoist rite among pines, ending on the road to Penglai
      19. The Daoist Priestess · Spring Hills Quiet at NightFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a Daoist priestess alone on a spring night, her lover's letters gone
      20. Wine Spring Song · The Lonely Green TowerFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a lonely woman in her tower on a hazy moonlit night, lost in memories
      21. Wine Spring Song · Rain-Soaked, the Blossoms FallFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of rain-beaten flowers and a woman who cannot bear to hear her own zither
      22. Wine Spring Song · Endless Autumn RainFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of autumn rain on withered lotus, heard sleepless till dawn after wine
      23. Wine Spring Song · The Lovely Autumn MoonFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of autumn moonlight through bamboo, waking a woman from her dream
      24. Gazing into the Distance · Slow Spring Days, Lonely ThoughtsFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of a woman pining in slow spring days for a traveller far away
      25. Gazing into the Distance · Dew in the Quiet Court as Leaves FallFive Dynasties and Ten KingdomsLi Xun's short ci of an autumn night when a woman waits in vain for her lover's letter
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