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

Re: 3.13

[x_los]

“jade mat autumn.” ?

“magnolia boat” ?

Again the image of a woman on a boat alone

“a brocade letter” is the letter embroidered somehow? Or does she just mean—the clouds look like brocade, and also like characters?

Re: 3.13

[superborb]

Baike glosses jade mat as a bamboo mat as smooth as jade. The vernacular tl editorializes here by adding that the jade mat reveals the coolness of autumn.

Magnolia boat is even in the dictionary as just 'poetic name for a boat'. Baike adds some context for this history and says some say that it is indicating a bed.

Baike glosses brocade letter as a poetic way to say letter and gives the origin story for this term.

Re: 3.13

[douqi]

Most commentaries seem to date this poem quite early in her career, when her husband had to travel away from home not long after their marriage. Not sure of the veracity of that, but it's the conventional read.

Possibly the mat is also cool because she is feeling Lonely(TM).

The final line 'As soon as it leaves the brow it surfaces in the heart' is said by many commentators to be a riff on 眉间心上 无计相回避 (very roughly: there's no escaping this emotion: whether twixt my brows or upon my heart), the final line from fellow Song poet Fan Zhongyan's ci poem set to the tune of 御街行 (Walking on Imperial Streets). Li Qingzhao's version is often held to be superior (though there are dudebros who Want To Be Different who hold to the contrary) because it captures the rippling ups-and-downs of emotions more effectively and evocatively than Fan Zhongyan's relatively 'plain spoken' line.