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To the tune of Intoxicated Under the Shadow of Flowers

The Double Ninth Festival

Light mists and heavy clouds, melancholy the long dreay day, In the golden cencer the burning incense is dying away. It is again time for the lovely Double-Nith Festival; The coolness of midnight penetrates my screen of sheer silk and chills my pillow of jade. After drinking wine at twilight under the chrysanthemum hedge, My sleeves are perfumed by the faint fragrance of the plants. Oh, I cannot say it is not enchanting, Only, when the west wind stirs the curtain, I see that I am more gracile than the yellow flowers.

 Li Qingzhao

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A remarkable female poet of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Li Qingzhao (1084-1155) made great achievements in prose as well as poetry, but most of all in the field of lyrics. Born into a literary family in present-day Jinan of Shandong Province, she established herself early as a major talent. In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, who shared her artistic and academic interests. The style of Li Qingzhao’s lyrics changed sharply after she fled to the south after the invasion of the Kin Kingdom in north China. Before she went south, her lyrics mainly recounted the lives of girls and women in their boudoirs. For example, Like a Dream and Complaint of the Prince describes the airy life of cheer the poetess enjoyed at home. Tipsy in the Flower’s Shadow expresses a girl’s loneliness and longing for love, as also expressed in the Flute on Phoenix Terrace, and A Twig of Plum Blossoms. After fleeing south, she endured great hardships in life and the style of her lyric poetry turned deep and pithy. Buddhist Dancers Charm of a Maiden Singer and Slow, Slow Song explore the author’s feelings about life in exile. Joy of Eternal Union is one of the classic Li Qingzhao’s lyric poems composed in the south, presenting a scene during the Lantern Festival in which the poet, avoiding the company of friends, meditates on the bitterness consigned her by the war. In this lyric poem, Li Qingzhao rises above self-pity and expresses her fears for the whole nation. In Pride of Fishermen, the poet not only spilled out the distress caused by homelessness but also expressed a strong desire for an unfettered freedom. Li Qingzhao’s lyrics are woven with a “delicate restraint” in the following ways: first, merging intense passion with literary images, creating an artistic conception in which feelings and scenery are well blended; second, using simple but original language, which in Li Qingzhao’s lyrics is very natural and expressive. Not many literary quotations sprinkle her lyrics but with much spoken language and common sayings, Li Qingzhao’s lyrics have the beauty of music and are easy to recite. Bio and photos via:  absolutechinatours.com and cctv.com