Li Qingzhao (1084–1155; other accounts place her death around 1151 or after the twenty-first year of Shaoxing, at more than seventy) was a Song-dynasty woman poet and ci writer. She was known by the sobriquet Yi’an Jushi. Her native place is variously given as Jinan and Licheng, while Zhangqiu is identified as her birthplace. Her father was Li Gefei and her mother Wang.
Life
As a child, she taught Han Yufu poetry. In 1101, at age eighteen, she married Zhao Mingcheng, then a student at the Imperial Academy, and the couple worked together on texts; in 1102, her father was placed on the party list.
In 1086 she was registered in Kaifeng; from 1108 to 1121 she lived in Qingzhou, for which another residence extends to 1128. In 1121 she followed her husband to Laizhou; in 1127, as Jin forces invaded southward, Zhao became prefect of Jiangning, and she travelled there carrying books; the Jiangning move is also dated 1128–1129.
In 1129 Zhao was transferred to Huzhou and died on the way; Qingzhao then lived as a refugee in the southeast, passing through Chizhou, Jiankang, Yuezhou, Taizhou, Shengxian, Wenzhou, Quzhou, Shaoxing Prefecture, Lin'an Prefecture, and Jinhua. Her movements place Chizhou, Jiankang, Yuezhou, Taizhou, and Shengxian in 1129; Wenzhou, Yuezhou, and Quzhou in 1130; Shaoxing Prefecture in 1131–1132; Lin'an Prefecture in 1132 and again in 1138; and Jinhua in 1134.
In 1132 she went to Lin'an; that summer she remarried Zhang Ruzhou, but they soon divorced. She and Zhao shared an interest in collecting and studying inscriptions, calligraphy, and painting. Following the model of Ouyang Xiu's Jigu lu, Zhao compiled the thirty-juan Jinshi lu, which Qingzhao submitted to the court during Shaoxing; in later life she completed its organization and wrote the Jinshi lu houxu in the fourth year of Shaoxing.
Literary achievement
She was skilled in poetry and prose and was especially renowned for ci, being described both as a major Song representative of the graceful school and as a leading figure of the Southern Song graceful school. Her ci diction is clear and elegant, with a talent for plain description; in her one-essay Ci lun, she emphasized tonal regulation and elegance and opposed treating shi as ci. She is also associated with the epithet “the most talented woman in all ages.”
Works
Her Yi’an Jushi ji (《易安居士集》) is lost; later compilations include Shuyu ji (《漱玉集》), and current editions include Li Qingzhao ji (《李清照集》). Bibliographical titles include Yi’an Jushi wenji (《易安居士文集》) in seven juan, sometimes twelve, and Yi’an ci (《易安詞》) in six; both are lost, while Li Yian ji (《李易安集》) is also listed in twelve juan.
The surviving work identified is the one-volume Dama tujing (《打馬圖經》), while Dama tu (《打馬圖》) also occurs as a title. Shuyu ci (《漱玉詞》) is also listed, including a one-volume title, alongside Maxi tupu (《馬戲圖譜》); modern compilations include Shuyu ji zhu (《漱玉集注》).
References
- CBDB Li Qingzhao (19713)
- 搜韵 李清照 (27794)
- Wikidata Li Qingzhao (Q464470)