Writers › Writer / Poet
Li Zhiyi
Northern Song ci poet from Wudi in Cangzhou, courtesy name Duanshu, in Su Shi's circle, famous for the ci 'I live at the head of the Yangtze'.
In a study at night, a desk holds a brush pot, a porcelain vase with a plum branch, a lit red lantern, a folded fan and an unrolled blank scroll, with no one seated there, while through a round window the moon rises over a lake with a sailboat.
Also known as Duanshu · Hermit of Guxi
Li Zhiyi, courtesy name Duanshu and styled Hermit of Guxi, came from Wudi in Cangzhou and lived from 1048 to 1127. He passed the jinshi in 1073 and moved in the circle of Su Shi, Huang Tingjian and Qin Guan. Targeted by Cai Jing, he was exiled to Taipingzhou (Dangtu in Anhui) in 1103 and dismissed again in 1113 over his concubine Yang Shu. He prized words that end while meaning lingers; his collected works and Guxi ci survive, and the Bu suan zi that opens 'I live at the head of the Yangtze' is his masterpiece.
Life and times
Dates 1048 CE–1127 CE