Li Qingzhao In China Analysis
Li Qingzhao: A Distinct Female Voice in the Song Dynasty
Poetry is an essential part of Chinese culture in ancient China, and there exist numerous marvelous poems, which have considerable impacts on the Chinese world. In order to be prominent and admiring, these poems can’t be too esoteric and detachment; instead, they need to be easily accessible, understandable and memorable for common people. If you have read Li Bai, Du Fu or Su Shi, you might be one step closer to becoming well-versed in one of China’s greatest arts. But these poets are all male and there’s something incredibly important missing from this list, and that is women. Unfortunately, intellectualism bears no such equal proportions. In other words, there aren’t many prominent …show more content…
In general, Ci is a pervasive form of poetry among Song people, and it was developed by the end of the Tang dynasty. In Li Qingzhao’s early period, Northern Song dynasty’s Ci’s wording is elegant and melodic, its content introspective and melancholic, which corresponds to the characteristics and cultural expectations of ancient Chinese women. This trend is called, “男子作闺音” which means “one of the metaphorical way", and describes how men wrote from women’s perspectives. Another reason for this phenomena is that Ci would be presented with a tune and sung by a chorus girl. Most male Ci poets, who wanted to portray women characters and their lives, needed to infer and speculate about women’s thoughts and emotions through observations and conversations with the chorus girls, which is the only group of women that they could easily access. However, these chorus girls were just a minority group of women. What’s more, the interpretation on the same object can be different among chorus girls and other girls, such as a noble lady, and among male and female poets. Compared to Liu Yong, who wrote from his compassion and appreciation for women, Li Qingzhao wrote from her own experience to exemplify outstanding women characteristics. For example, in Li Qingzhao’s “Tune: “Rouged Lips”, she depicts a girl: "Stepping down from the swing, / Languidly she smooths her s o f t slender hands,/ Her flimsy dress wet with light perspiration-/ A slim flower trembling with heavy dew./ Spying a stranger, she walks hastily away in shyness:/ Her feet in bare socks,/ Her gold hairpin fallen. / Then she stops to lean against a gate, / And looking back, / Makes as if sniffing a green plum."(The Complete Ci-poems of Li Qingzhao: A New English Translation, Jiaosheng Wang). In this description, Li
Poetry is an essential part of Chinese culture in ancient China, and there exist numerous marvelous poems, which have considerable impacts on the Chinese world. In order to be prominent and admiring, these poems can’t be too esoteric and detachment; instead, they need to be easily accessible, understandable and memorable for common people. If you have read Li Bai, Du Fu or Su Shi, you might be one step closer to becoming well-versed in one of China’s greatest arts. But these poets are all male and there’s something incredibly important missing from this list, and that is women. Unfortunately, intellectualism bears no such equal proportions. In other words, there aren’t many prominent …show more content…
In general, Ci is a pervasive form of poetry among Song people, and it was developed by the end of the Tang dynasty. In Li Qingzhao’s early period, Northern Song dynasty’s Ci’s wording is elegant and melodic, its content introspective and melancholic, which corresponds to the characteristics and cultural expectations of ancient Chinese women. This trend is called, “男子作闺音” which means “one of the metaphorical way", and describes how men wrote from women’s perspectives. Another reason for this phenomena is that Ci would be presented with a tune and sung by a chorus girl. Most male Ci poets, who wanted to portray women characters and their lives, needed to infer and speculate about women’s thoughts and emotions through observations and conversations with the chorus girls, which is the only group of women that they could easily access. However, these chorus girls were just a minority group of women. What’s more, the interpretation on the same object can be different among chorus girls and other girls, such as a noble lady, and among male and female poets. Compared to Liu Yong, who wrote from his compassion and appreciation for women, Li Qingzhao wrote from her own experience to exemplify outstanding women characteristics. For example, in Li Qingzhao’s “Tune: “Rouged Lips”, she depicts a girl: "Stepping down from the swing, / Languidly she smooths her s o f t slender hands,/ Her flimsy dress wet with light perspiration-/ A slim flower trembling with heavy dew./ Spying a stranger, she walks hastily away in shyness:/ Her feet in bare socks,/ Her gold hairpin fallen. / Then she stops to lean against a gate, / And looking back, / Makes as if sniffing a green plum."(The Complete Ci-poems of Li Qingzhao: A New English Translation, Jiaosheng Wang). In this description, Li