Li Qingzhao

Lore & Background

Li Qingzhao was born into a family of scholar-officials in what is now Shandong province. Her father was an academic professor and essayist who belonged to a poetry and literary circle led by Su Shi, while her mother was a renowned poet descended from a former prime minister. The family possessed a large collection of books, allowing Li to receive a comprehensive education from childhood. Her early poems revealed a girlish innocence, a sharp mind, and a love of nature. As a teenager, she began her career by writing two poems in the shi form to rhyme with a friend’s work. By 1101, at age eighteen, her poetry was already well known in elite circles when she married Zhao Mingcheng, a fellow lover of poetry, literature, bronze and stone sculpture, painting, and calligraphy. Though not wealthy, the couple collected inscriptions and calligraphy, wrote poems for each other, and studied bronze artifacts from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Li’s early poetic style became calmer and more elegant during this happy period, portraying her carefree days as a woman of high society. The Jin-Song wars shattered this life; their house in Shandong was burned, and they fled south of the Yangtze River, taking many possessions to Nanjing. Zhao died of typhoid fever in 1129, and Li never recovered. She wandered aimlessly, struggling to protect their remaining collection. In her later years, she settled in Hangzhou, where her poetry turned to nostalgic memories of her husband and hometown. She also worked on completing the Catalogue of Inscriptions on Metal and Stone, a book about calligraphy on bronze and stone. According to some accounts, she was briefly married to a man who treated her badly and divorced him within months. She survived criticism of this marriage and is believed to have died around age 71. Only about a hundred of her poems survive, mostly in the ci form, which allows personal and emotional expression. She is credited with the first detailed critique of Chinese poetry’s metrics and is regarded as a master of the subtle and concise style.

Reader's Guide

Li Qingzhao's significance lies in her transformation of ci poetry into a vehicle for personal and emotional expression, especially love, longing, and sorrow. Her work is divided into two periods: early poems reflect her carefree maidenhood and marital happiness, while later poems, written after her flight south, express nostalgia for her husband and homeland, and hatred of the war. She is credited with the first detailed critique of Chinese poetry metrics and completed the Catalogue of Inscriptions on Metal and Stone after her husband's death. Only about a hundred of her poems survive, mostly in ci form, as many were lost in subsequent turmoil. Her legacy endures through memorial halls in Shandong, Zhejiang, and Hangzhou, and through modern references including impact craters on Mercury and Venus, musical settings, a novel, and a video game. Her life and work are seen as closely tied to the historical turmoil of the Song–Jin wars.

Did You Know?

• Li Qingzhao is credited with the first detailed critique of the metrics of Chinese poetry.
• She wrote her famous ci poem 'A Dream Song' between ages 16 and 17, recalling events before her marriage.
• Two impact craters, one on Mercury and one on Venus, are named after her.
• She was briefly married to a man named Zhang Ruzhou, who treated her badly, and she divorced him within months.