Li Qing Zhao Case
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Throughout the history of ancient China, literature was mostly written by men and the most famous composers were also mostly male. This is largely because in ancient China, males dominated the society, females are to be submissive and thus, was placed at the bottom of ancient China society. It can be very difficult for women to write since, in the ancient world, education is limited and when education is available, it is usually for men and the families of the elite. Thus, women writers have long been denied the chance to express themselves and has been neglected in the society because of their gender. When we look at all the surviving Chinese literature that we have today, it is quite a shame and unfair (from a womans point of view) that most of them are written by males and thus, limiting us to a males perspective of history and literature. Had only women writers were accepted more widely and the ancients had given them the chance and opportunity to develop their talents and intelligence, women could have been able to make a significant contribution to Chinas literature history. Despite the challenges many imperial concubines, daughters in the elite society, courtesans, and lovers have all somehow found their own way of writing. Throughout history, there are about a hundred women writers that have successfully placed themselves in the history of Chinese literature and their ability and achievements were in no way lesser than those of their male counterparts. Sometimes women have even developed new ways of writing and at other times were able to shed new light on an existing style of writing and surpass men who have traditionally dominated field of literature.
Among these women, the most outstanding and influential of the Song Dynasty was Li Qingzhao, a writer and poetess. Historians consider her a major link in poetic tradition, she was a successor to Su Shi and a precursor of Xin Qiji.1 Li Qingzhao was born into a 11th century Chinese family of scholars and officials. Her father was a professor for the Imperial Court and her mother had a reputation for writing and poetry, therefore she received a good education and read Chinese literature in her childhood. Her poetry was well known among the elite circles at a young age. Unfortunately, most of her collection are lost and we only have a portion of her works today. There are a few prose, some shi, and most importantly the 50 ci lyrics that earned her the title of Chinas greatest woman poet.2 Even though most of the known lyricists were men during the earlier periods of song lyrics, Li Qingzhao still became one of the finest lyricists of the Song dynasty. Since songs were performed by both genders, most of the time men wrote lyrics where they made assumptions of what they think is the typical feelings of a woman in a typically situation, attempting to write in their voice, but the result is a male perspective of women. With Li Qingzhao we can finally see lyrics written in the perspective of a real woman where deep feelings, rather than the typical feelings are conveyed
The following is a brief summary of Li Qingzhaos life, she was born in 1084 and died in 1151. Although her family was initially well off, her fathers career was a cycle where he was removed from position and re-appointed. In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, who was a brilliant university student interested in classical scholarship. They were a perfect match for each other, sharing much of the same interest and aspirations, cherishing the same ideals and were genuinely devoted to each other, but his official career also had its up and downs, there was a point where the couple had to live in seclusion for 10 years. Although they enjoyed their time together, composing, collecting antiques and literary works, the life they led was not easy. In Jin shi lu (Records on metal and stone) she mentions how they would use all their money, clothes, jewellery, and anything they had that was valuable to buy books, scrolls, art antiques to build their collection. A hobby and enjoyment “actually created trouble and worries for themselves,” but that never stopped him. She “deliberately omitted the second meat from [her] meals”, she “stopped wearing clothes of more than one color,” and she “.no longer wore ornaments of bright pearls and kingfisher feathers in [her] hair.”2 These were sacrifices that she made initially for their collection together, but in the end it was only for him. He was often travelling and away during their marriage, either for official services or left her to search for pieces to add to his collection. Li Qingzhao would be left at home longing for his return, this was when she devoted most of her time to writing, expressing her thoughts and emotions through poetry. Her marriage and life was destroyed by the war. In 1126, the Song dynasty capital fell and their home was burnt along with their 10 rooms full of books and antiques.1 Shortly after Zhao Mingcheng died and she was left behind not knowing what to do with what is left of their collection.1 She drifted from place to place and eventually she grew very ill. In 1132 she ended up in a marriage where she was physically abused.2 She filed a divorce after 100 days.2 In the end she settled permanently in Hangzhou, where she published her husbands work, Jin shi lu (Records on metal and stone) and continued to write her poetry.2
Ones poetry can be greatly influenced by their thoughts, emotions, and mental state at the time they are writing. Therefore, it is important to understand the events of Li Qingzhaos life because the background information can sometimes assist in adding details or explanations to her poems. Although Ronald Egan believes Li Qingzhao has the “ability to create and manipulate literary personas and fictive objects” and therefore, argues she is not solely writing in her own voice and about her husband Zhao Mingcheng.2 I acknowledge Li Qingzhaos ability and I partially agree with Egan, but I argue that ones emotions can affect ones writing to a certain degree, even when you try to mask your feelings those feelings can still tacitly be revealed through your poems. For example, if you try to write a happy poem when you are depressed, even if you only use joyful diction, there may still be a hint of sadness in your writing that is unconsciously expressed. I want to explore Li Qingzhaos writing and how it has changed throughout her life. I acknowledge her talent and ability to write in different personas, but I argue that her poetry is heavily influenced by the events in her life and these emotions are conveyed in her ci poems.
Ci poetry is a kind of song lyric that falls into two types, the bold romantic style and the delicate restrained style. Li Qingzhao belonged to the latter, she was able to inherit and develop upon the fine