The Works of Li Qingzhao, Ci Poems 3.17 - 3.24

[x_los]

The thrilling third instalment of Li Qingzhao’s ci poetry. This 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 3.17 through 3.24, inclusive.

Four 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)

This week, we look at Chapter 12 as recommended additional reading. 

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Comments

Re: 3.23

[x_los]

“the thousand gates” of heaven? Is this a reference to a traditional idea about its architecture? (Oh, footnote says something called the moon palace.)

“(It was sometimes said that the celestial River of Stars connected to the worldly ocean at the
edge of the sky.)” This is a cool image, like in Narnia when Reepicheep sails off the world

Really evocative one again

Not quite sure I get the logic of the ending, with the turn from clear sky, which makes sense, to the more obscure rain and wind

Re: 3.23

[superborb]

The Baike exegesis says that the weather vividly represents the sorrows and happinesses of the human world.