The Works of Li Qingzhao, Ci Poems 3.9 - 3.16

[x_los]

This week we continue working with Li Qingzhao’s ci poetry. As usual, the book is freely available via De Gruyter's Library of Chinese Humanities in Mandarin and English and via several publication formats, including two open access options (the pdf appears to be better formatted than the ebook). We're reading the poems 3.9 through 3.16 inclusive.

Three of this week’s poems have endnotes, but these offer only small points of Chinese language exegesis. 

How to Read Chinese Poetry has three chapters on the ci forms Li Qingzhao uses here:

 

Chapter 12, Ci Poetry: Short Song Lyrics (Xiaoling) 

Chapter 13, Ci Poetry: Long Song Lyrics (Manci) 

Chapter 14, Ci Poetry: Long Song Lyrics on Objects (Yongwu Ci)

From next week, we’ll be looking at these as recommended reading.

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Comments

3.14 晚止昌樂館寄姊妹 In the evening at Changle Station, sent to my sisters

[x_los]

蝶戀花
晚止昌樂館寄姊妹

淚搵征衣脂粉暖。
四疊陽關
唱了千千遍。
人道山長水又斷。 蕭蕭微雨聞孤館。
惜別傷離方寸亂。
忘了臨行
酒盞深和淺。
若有音書憑過雁。
東萊不似蓬萊遠。


In the evening at Changle Station, sent to my sisters

Tears were brushed from my traveling coat, my powder and rouge warmed by them.
The four stanzas of “Yang Pass”
were sung thousands and thousands of times.
People say the hills stretch far and rivers block the way.
In the lone way station we listened to soughing rain.
My heart was in turmoil, regretting our separation.
Now I forget, as I made ready to set out, 8 how deep the wine cup was.
Letters you write can be entrusted to migrating geese. Donglai is not as far, after all, as Penglai.

Re: 3.14 晚止昌樂館寄姊妹 In the evening at Changle Station, sent to my sisters

[x_los]

soughing: (of the wind in trees, the sea, etc.) make a moaning, whistling, or rushing sound."the soughing of the wind in the canopy of branches"



Interesting that this is maybe the first ci poem that takes the poetess as its actual subject

Re: 3.14 晚止昌樂館寄姊妹 In the evening at Changle Station, sent to my sisters

[superborb]

I find it interesting that there are so many characters glossed as a homonym character because I guess meanings have diverged? Makes more sense when it's like 萧 to 潇-- clearly at some point the water radical gets added to separate that meaning out. But 满 to 漫, how does that happen?