[In the following essay, Minru explores the complexities of Li Ch'ing-chao's life and interests and the influence these on her poetry.]

The Song Dynasty (960-1279) was a period of cultural growth and economic development. Especially during the first hundred years after its establishment, talented writers and poets were particularly prominent, among whom was a most gifted poetess, Li Qingzhao. Though born in feudal times, when women suffered both oppression and discrimination, and though her biography was not recorded, she nevertheless occupies an outstanding place among the Song-dynasty literati and her few poems, which are still extant, are among the treasures of Chinese classical literature. In that male-dominated literary society, her position was extremely rare.

Li Qingzhao (1081-1155?), also known as Li Yi'an, was born in Ji'nan, Shandong Province. Her father Li Gefei, once a second-class secretary on the Board of Rites, was a well-known scholar and prose writer, while her mother, grand-daughter of a prime minister of the former dynasty, was also well educated. She spent her childhood in Licheng, near Ji'nan, in a lively academic and literary atmosphere. She was open and frank, loved reading and could write both elegant poetry and prose, gaining a reputation for herself outside of her family. At the age of eighteen, she married a twenty-one-year-old scholar Zhao Mingcheng, a student at the Imperial Academy and youngest son of a vice-president of the Board of Rites.

Family status and interests were the only considerations in feudal marriage and the happiness of a young couple was completely ignored. There was only duty, not love. However, Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng were well-matched and their union proved a very happy one. They were both well-educated bibliophiles, having a common disdain for conventions and sharing literary ambitions. In Li Qingzhao's “Preface to A Collection of Epigraphy”, she recalled, how on the first and fifteenth days of the month, when the county fair was held, her husband used to find an excuse to get permission from their parents to go out. He would then pawn their clothes or other articles of daily use in order to buy a few books and stone rubbings and some fruit. Li and he would then hide themselves in their room reading and eating fruit. They were always so absorbed in their books that they completely forgot the real world around them.

Li Qingzhao's exceptional talent and forthright character were incompatible with the feudal customs and her status as a woman. Her poems therefore demonstrated a spirit of rebellion and bold originality. For instance, she flouted conventional morality by writing of her ardent love and was criticized for this by some moralists. In his anecdotes, the Southern-Song scholar Wang Zhuo declared: “We've never seen such an unscrupulous poetess from such a genteel family.” However, her love poems were more sincere, profound and touching than those written by her male contemporaries. Once Zhao Mingcheng was away on official business, on the Double Ninth Festival, she composed a ci poem to the tune Zui Hua Yin and sent it to her absent husband, exquisitely and vividly describing her longing for him. Zhao Mingcheng admired this poem and wished to surpass her, so he shut himself up to compose with much difficulty fifty ci poems in three days and nights. He sent his wife's poem along with his to his friend Lu Defu for comments. After reading them carefully, Lu Defu replied, “They are very good, and I think these three lines are superb:

‘Do not say that I am not overwhelmed with sorrow;
As the curtain is blown up by the west wind,
I look more emaciated than the chrysanthemum.’”

These are the last lines of Li Qingzhao's poem. The misery of a woman in love was gracefully conveyed by the images of the west wind and chrysanthemum. Then, Zhao Mingcheng was truly convinced that his wife was the better poet. But Li Qingzhao's interests reached far beyond her family circle. The following poem, which she wrote to the tune Yu Jia Ao, reveals her inner thoughts.

In the sky merged with the floating clouds and morning mist,
The Silver River(1) is about to fade, a thousand sails dancing;
It seems in a dream that I've returned to the Heavenly Palace,
And heard the Jade Emperor speaking,
Eagerly asking where I am bound.
I reply that life's road is long and I'm ageing,
What I've achieved is a few unusual poems.
Now the mighty roc of nine thousand li has taken wing.
May the wind keep blowing
My little boat to the land of the immortals.

Her longing to escape from reality was just like that of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BC), who became disillusioned and expressed his wish to visit the Heavenly Palace. Li Qingzhao was seeking an unreachable, idealistic realm, but this also shows her bold and vigorous spirit. She inherited Qu Yuan's imaginative power and romanticism and brought to it her own refreshing poetic images. Many later scholars praised her elegance and boldness, without recognizing that her style was evolved from the contradiction between her idealism and unrestrained feelings, unusual in women at that time.

Li Qingzhao and her husband tried to realize their ideals and find happiness. They lived during a most decadent and reactionary period in the reign of the last emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). There were constant threats from northern nomads and court intrigues. In the year after Li Qingzhao's marriage, her father-in-law put himself under the patronage of the evil and powerful official Cai Jing and became the prime minister, while her father was involved in the faction headed by Sima Guang and Su Shi, who opposed Cai Jing, and was sent into exile. But Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng believed that if they could avoid adverse political circumstances, they could manage their own destiny. So, when her father-in-law died and the Zhao family fortunes declined, the young couple happily went back to Qingzhou in Shandong, the hometown of the Zhao family to lead a quiet life. They despised the bureaucracy as vulgar and believed only in the virtue of writing or compiling scholarly books. For many years, they lived frugally and spent all their income on purchasing books, paintings, stone rubbings and curios. Whenever they heard about a rare book, they would endeavour to borrow it from the government library and make a copy of it for themselves. Sometimes, if they happened to see some good paintings, which they could not afford to buy, they would feel sad and full of regret for several days. If Zhao Mingcheng accidentally found a valuable art treasure in another place, he would hurry home that very night to wake his wife. Then, they would make tea, light a candle and sit together appreciating it until the candle was extinguished. Gradually, they amassed a considerable collection of books and treasures. They set up a private library in their home, classifying and entering each book. They stored their books in huge bookcases. The bronze and stone articles and scrolls of paintings and rubbings were displayed on the desks and side-tables, even on the bed.

Collecting books and antiques was not their sole preoccupation. But they did neglect their family and devoted themselves to collating and making emendations on the bronze and stone inscriptions and books. They only took a short rest after each meal. They also liked to make a pot of tea and quiz each other in turn about the source of a certain story—in which book, which volume and on which pages. Whoever gave the correct answer would enjoy the privilege of drinking the tea first. Li Qingzhao was not only well read, but also possessed a retentive memory, so that she usually won. One day, when she won the first cup of tea again, she was so delighted that she spilt the tea on her lap laughing. When the book A Collection of Epigraphy was nearing completion, they felt a deep sense of fulfilment.

But, the upheavals and chaos in the country shattered their dreams and their personal goals and happiness seemed paltry when compared with the national crisis. In 1127 when Li Qingzhao was 44, the Jin invaders captured Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. The emperor was taken prisoner, and the government was moved to the south. At that time Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao were in Zizhou in Shandong, where Zhao held an official post. In order to attend to his mother's funeral, Zhao Mingcheng hurried south with fifteen cartloads of books and treasured articles. When Li Qingzhao went back to Qingzhou alone, she saw their remaining books and possessions had been reduced to ashes. In the following autumn, Zhao Mingcheng was summoned to take up another official post in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing,), and Li Qingzhao hurriedly joined him there with some of their rare books and treasures. At that time there was a debate in the court between those who wished to resist and those who sought peace. Li Qingzhao sided with the faction which was for resistance and was dissatisfied with the court's capitulation. During a heavy snow that winter, Li Qing-zhao, who loved nature, a bamboo hat on her head and a coir cape round her shoulders, climbed with Zhao Mingcheng to a high place to gaze into the distance, mourning over their war-torn motherland. Li Qingzhao turned her grief into a series of patriotic poems. It is a pity that these have been lost and only some fragments remain. But the short poem written that summer in praise of the insurgent Xiang Yu is noteworthy:

One should be a hero when alive,
And remain a brave ghost after death.
Xiang Yu is respected till now,
For he refused to cross the river.

Xiang Yu had overthrown the Qin Dynasty but was defeated afterwards by Liu Bang, who later established the Han Dynasty. Ashamed to face his supporters in the south, he refused to cross the Wujiang River and committed suicide. By singing his praises the poetess denounced the Song emperor, who had fled to the south and sued for peace.

In 1129 the army of Jin divided their forces and harassed and advanced from several directions, while volunteer troops rose in resistance one after another. The Song empire was thrown into chaos. Zhao Mingcheng was then appointed to a post in Chao-zhou in Zhejiang, yet was dismissed before he had even assumed office. As he was about to settle temporarily in Chiyang in Anhui, he received an imperial decree, summoning him to an audience with the emperor in Jiankang, to be appointed the prefect of Chaozhou. On June 13, he left his wife on the boat heading for Chiyang and went ashore alone. Gazing at her husband, who sat on the bank waving farewell to her, Li Qing-zhao had a sudden premonition that some misfortune might befall them. She controlled her emotions, asking, “What shall I do if things go wrong in Chiyang?” Zhao Mingcheng answered, “Go with the other refugees. Discard the furniture and utensils first, then the clothes and quilts. Abandon the books, paintings and treasures only if absolutely necessary. As for our ancestral tablets, you must keep them at all costs!” Gazing after the retreating figure of her husband, Li Qingzhao watched him galloping away vigorously under the blazing sun. Zhao Mingcheng became ill the moment he arrived in Jiankang. He was an impetuous person, so he took an over-dose of medicine in the hope that he would recover soon. But his condition deteriorated. Li Qingzhao got the bad news at the end of July and hurried to Jiankang. Zhao was mortally ill and died on August 18.

Li Qingzhao was then 46 years old. Her family was ruined, and she was left alone. Finding no shelter in Jiankang and with the war situation critical, she followed other refugees in seeking shelter with some relatives in Hongzhou in Jiangxi. Hongzhou fell shortly after she arrived, forcing her to abandon all the fifteen cartloads of books and antiques she had brought with her. Then another unexpected disaster befell her. A scholar named Zhang Feiqing had brought Zhao Mingcheng a jade pot, offering to sell it to him. Zhao had refused. But after his death, someone started a rumour that the Zhao family had offered the jade pot to the enemy to show their loyalty to them and that they must be punished by the Song court. Li Qingzhao was alarmed about this. She begged someone to explain the truth, while presenting all her bronzes and other curios to the court in order to avoid punishment. To show her loyalty to the Song court, she followed the route the emperor had taken, travelling to Hangzhou, Yuezhou, Wenzhou, Jinhua and other places in Zhejiang. She abandoned almost everything en route, and when she stayed for the night with a family in Yuezhou, a thief made off with some of her belongings. She became homeless and impoverished. According to a contemporary record, she re-married a man named Zhang Ruzhou at the age of 49. His origins and official rank are unknown, even his name may not be correct. Clearly she only resorted to this expedient to end her vagrant life. According to feudal ethics, a widow's remarriage was shameful. But Li Qingzhao always did things in her own way, defying others' reproaches. Less than three months after their marriage, she found that Zhang had been involved in some corrupt dealings, so she went to report this to the local authorities. According to the law at that time, if a wife informed against her husband, she would also be sentenced to imprisonment even though her accusation was proved true. Naturally, she would also incur the censure of society. Regardless of this, she lodged a complaint against her husband, showing her courage and integrity. Thanks to the intercession of some old friends, she was only imprisoned for a few days and was then divorced from Zhang. Li Qingzhao suffered much abuse and ridicule for this both in her lifetime and after her death. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many scholars have tried to defend her, citing many historical records to prove that she had not in fact remarried at all. But even if she had, it neither dishonours her memory or her poems. Such criticism only makes one more aware of the inhuman practices of the feudal system and more sympathetic to Li Qingzhao.

In 1134 when Li Qingzhao was 51 years old, she edited Zhao Mingcheng's posthumous work A Collection of Epigraphy and wrote a preface for it. By introducing how the book came into being, she recalled many episodes in the 34 years of their marriage. The book was published a few years later. As for her own works, perhaps they were also printed in more than one edition. The title of her complete works was Li Yi'an's Works; the title for her poetry collection was Shuyu Ji. But there are only a few poems collected by others extant today and the date of her death is uncertain. In his Epitaph of Lady Sun, the famous Southern Song-dynasty poet Lu You mentioned that Lady Sun, born in 1141, had refused to take Li Qingzhao as her tutor. We can deduce from this that Li Qingzhao lived to be over seventy, yet led a rather miserable life.

Li Qingzhao's poems can be divided into two phases corresponding with the Northern Song Dynasty's downfall and the Southern Song Dynasty's retaining its sovereignty over southern China.

After the downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Han literati, who experienced the ruin of their country and families, became strongly patriotic and urged resistance. Because their feelings and those of the people were the same, their lives became more significant, their works more valuable. Li Qingzhao was both homeless and without a post after she went south. She therefore devoted all her energies to poetry. Most of her poems written in the later period expressed the feelings of the people. However, she did not use serious political themes; this was because she stuck to the traditional view that ci poetry was a lyric form. She therefore opposed the tendency to compose ci in the style of shi, emphasizing that “ci poetry is an independent genre of poetry”. With shi, she could boldly satirize the authorities or she might passionately express her wishes. In composing ci, she held that she must concentrate on its lyrical aspect, though the content of her ci poems did in fact go beyond the scope of her personal sentiments. She tried to describe her grief through the particular imagery, ideas and language of ci poetry. It is a pity that her achievements were limited because of her rigid adherence to the ci form. However, one cannot conclude that because her shi demonstrate her patriotic zeal and her ci reflect her grief over the dead, her shi only have good ideological content, while her ci only have high artistic quality. If we examine three of her ci poems, we can see how she brought out the lyricism and used images, ideas, metaphors and similes to portray her emotions. Take, for example, the poem to the tune Wu Ling Chun written in 1134, when she stayed in Jinhua:

The wind's stopped, the earth fragrant, but petals have
          fallen,
Rising late, I'm too weary to dress my hair.
Though these remain, everything's meaningless since I lost my loved ones.
Before I can speak, tears flow down my cheeks.
I've heard spring is still beautiful at Double Brook,
I wish to go boating in a light canoe, too.
But I fear the little boat at Double Brook
Could not support all my sorrows.

At the beginning of this poem, the poetess uses the metaphor of fallen petals to describe her sorrow. Then, with each word like a tear drop, she sighs: “Though these remain, everything's meaningless since I lost my loved ones.” The second stanza begins more cheerfully. Double Brook was a scenic spot in Jinhua, and the poetess loved to go sightseeing. Then the tone changes abruptly because Jinhua was strange to her and she was too sad to enjoy its beauty. Because the boat was too light, it made her sorrows appear even heavier. This ingenious and unique image was copied by many later scholars.

The second poem was written to the tune Sheng Sheng Man:

Seeking, seeking,
Chilly and quiet,
Desolate, painful and miserable.
Even when it's warmer there is still a chill,
It is most difficult to keep well.
Three or two cups of light wine,
How can they ward off the strong morning wind?
Wild geese fly past, while I'm broken-hearted;
But I recognize they are my old friends.
Fallen chrysanthemums piled up on the ground,
So withered,
Who would pluck them?
Leaning on the window,
How can I pass the time till night alone?
The drizzle falls on the wutong trees,
Rain-drops drip down at dusk.
At a time like this,
What immense sorrow I must bear!

This poem was written in colloquial language, using light wine, wild geese, fallen chrysanthemums, wutong trees and drizzle to depict her feelings. Since most of the officials and literati felt disheartened, the gloomy tone of this poem is representative. But we should also notice that a kind of bitter indignation can be sensed at the chaotic situation, her personal sufferings and everything that was unreasonable and unfair. In the last line, she used the word “sorrow” to summarize the sufferings of the patriotic literati.

The third poem, written to the tune Yong Yu Le, expressed her patriotic feeling:

The setting sun like melted gold,
Evening clouds like jade,
But where has my love gone?
Dense mist hangs over the newly-sprouted willow,
The melancholy tune of a flute lingers amidst plum blossoms.
But who knows this is but a glimpse of spring?
At the Lantern Festival,
The weather is fine,
But who knows if there will not be a sudden storm?
A fragrant carriage with rare stallions has been sent to fetch me,
Yet I decline the invitation of my friends for wine and poetry.
In our country's prosperous days, in the capital,
I had plenty of leisure time as a girl;
I still remember my liking for the Lantern Festival.
My head adorned with jade,
Wearing ornaments of gold,
My new clothes were gorgeous.
But now I'm pale and sallow,
My hair ruffled by the wind, tinged grey by the mist,
I fear to go out at night.
Better to hide behind the bamboo curtain
Listening to the laughter of others.

This poem was perhaps written at the time of the Lantern Festival, on the 15th of the 1st lunar month, in her later years when she was living in Hangzhou. In the past when she lived in the capital, the Northern Song court used to celebrate the Lantern Festival in order to present a picture of peace and prosperity. That night everything looked very splendid, with various kinds of lanterns and a riot of colour. Women and girls were given permission to go out and watch the lanterns in the street. This day was, therefore, of great significance to them. But after the Southern Song court moved its capital to Hangzhou, the emperor and officials still lived lavishly, also celebrating the Lantern Festival as usual. Making use of this, Li Qingzhao expressed her grief at the lost northern capital.

The first stanza of this poem depicts the present scene and the author's feelings, repeatedly depicting her psychological state, in no mood for the festival. The first two lines present a scene of a fine evening, indicating the bright night with a full moon. But she cannot help sighing sorrowfully: “Where has my love gone?” This could refer to her husband, friends, the people of the Central Plains or even the country. The next two lines dwell on the early spring and the festive atmosphere through the images of the willow and flute. But the poetess cannot refrain from crying in despair: “But who knows this is but a glimpse of spring?” What is more, the good times cannot last long. The weather is unpredictable; perhaps a sudden storm will come. This is a bitter summary of her experiences. She therefore declines the invitation of her friends.

The second stanza describes her longing for the lost territory, her family and her changed feelings. In the past, she celebrated the joyous Lantern Festival in the capital; but now she is forced to live in a strange land. In the old days, she had “plenty of leisure time” and her clothes were beautiful, but now she is homeless, pale and sallow. She fears to go out in case her sorrow is revealed by the bright lanterns and moonlight. Her poignant lines at the end of the poem show her uncompromising attitude towards the false gaiety and revelry. The most striking characteristic of this poem is that, through depicting the subject matter, plot and scene in simple language, it reflects the author's unyielding integrity and patriotism.

Li Qingzhao's tragic life ended centuries ago, yet her superb ci poetry and her special position in the history of Chinese literature have won her a reputation that will live for ever.

Notes

1. The Silver River is the Milky Way.