I picked the word ‘zhi’
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao

《分得知字韵》

中文原文( Chinese )

学语三十年，缄口不求知。

谁遣好奇士，相逢说项斯。

English Translation

For three decades she’s been learning poetry,

pursuing not the fame but her own passion.

Her poems are often shared by classy gentry,

filling the curious minds at social moments.

‘zhi’: knowledge or fame

This poem was an outcome of an intellectual game she had with her lady friends perhaps in the drawing room (similar to a poetry club /book club today), where Yi’an picked the word ‘zhi’ so she had to come up with a poem using the word as the end rhyme right there and then, in seconds! She also had a lot of fun doing the game with her husband and maybe, her brother, too. They could spend hours playing the game and the rewards were usually the loser serve tea to the winner, or it could be wine made of rice, flowers or fruits.

The ‘she’ in the poem refers to herself. She’s past thirty years old now and her works had been well recognized ever since teenage years. Famous poets like Zhao Buzhi, Wang Jun and many others would mention her poems to their peers for her amazingly good lines. Zhao even said that her teenage poems “almost as good as the best poets of the time.”

- Last updated: 2024-09-30 21:41:06

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Why Chinese poems is so special?: The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.

How to read a Chinese poem?: Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.

I picked the word ‘zhi’
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao

List of Chinese poets

Pre-Qin Poetry

Han poetry

Six Dynasties Poetry

Tang poetry

Song Poetry

Yuan poetry

Ming poetry

Qing poetry

I picked the word ‘zhi’ - Poetry of Li Qingzhao

List of Chinese poets

Pre-Qin Poetry

Han poetry

Six Dynasties Poetry

Tang poetry

Song Poetry

Yuan poetry

Ming poetry

Qing poetry

I picked the word ‘zhi’
- Poetry of Li Qingzhao