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

[pengwern]

I was wondering at one point about how some chinese poetry are like aesthetic moodboards to me - not super clear on how things work in other languages, although the symbolists were mentioned, but the way the poet links a thing with something else and expects an aspect of the thing used as adjective to cling to what's being described, which makes for very strong visuals and which I enjoy greatly...also I know absolutely nothing about poetry in general so there's probably a 101 thing I'm missing XD so you get these super compact phrases that contain a bunch of imagery like clown cars. All the coolness of the jade mats (that you'd probably want in summer, the way people use bamboo woven mats too) in autumn
the magnolia boat as baidu says is a reference to a place with magnolias that was carved by legendary figures into a small vessel, or also the wooden bed/couch
兰舟 and 锦书 are pleasing terms...
the brocade letter was (as baidu says) the woven missive of an exiled official's wife.
The moon filling the western tower is <33333