Previous translations and descriptions of Li Qingzhao are molded by an image of her as lonely wife and bereft widow formed by centuries of manipulation of her work and legacy by scholars and critics (all of them male) to fit their idea of a what a talented woman writer would sound like. The true voice of Li Qingzhao is very different. A new translation and presentation of her is needed to appreciate her genius and to account for the sense that Chinese readers have always had, despite what scholars and critics were saying, about the boldness and originality of her work. The introduction will lay out the problems of critical refashioning and conventionalization of her carried out in the centuries after her death, thus preparing the reader for a new reading. Her songs and poetry will then be presented in a way that breaks free of a narrow autobiographical reading of them, distinguishes between reliable and unreliable attributions, and also shows the great range of her talent by including important prose pieces and seldom read poems. In this way, the standard image of Li Qingzhao, exemplied by a handful of her best known and largely misunderstood works, will be challenged and replaced by a new understanding. The volume will present a literary portrait of Li Qingzhao radically unlike the one in conventional anthologies and literary histories, allowing English readers for the first time to appreciate her distinctiveness as a writer and to properly gauge her achievement as a female alternative, as poet and essayist, to the male literary culture of her day.

Previous translations and descriptions of Li Qingzhao are molded by an image of her as lonely wife and bereft widow formed by centuries of manipulation of her work and legacy by scholars and critics (all of them male) to fit their idea of a what a talented woman writer would sound like. The true voice of Li Qingzhao is very different. A new translation and presentation of her is needed to appreciate her genius and to account for the sense that Chinese readers have always had, despite what scholars and critics were saying, about the boldness and originality of her work. The introduction will lay out the problems of critical refashioning and conventionalization of her carried out in the centuries after her death, thus preparing the reader for a new reading. Her songs and poetry will then be presented in a way that breaks free of a narrow autobiographical reading of them, distinguishes between reliable and unreliable attributions, and also shows the great range of her talent by including important prose pieces and seldom read poems. In this way, the standard image of Li Qingzhao, exemplied by a handful of her best known and largely misunderstood works, will be challenged and replaced by a new understanding. The volume will present a literary portrait of Li Qingzhao radically unlike the one in conventional anthologies and literary histories, allowing English readers for the first time to appreciate her distinctiveness as a writer and to properly gauge her achievement as a female alternative, as poet and essayist, to the male literary culture of her day.

Widely considered the preeminent Chinese woman poet, Li Qingzhao (1084-1150s) occupies a crucial place in China’s literary and cultural history. She stands out as the great exception to the rule that the first-rank poets in premodern China were male. But at what price to our understanding of her as a writer does this distinction come? The Burden of Female Talent challenges conventional modes of thinking about Li Qingzhao as a devoted but often lonely wife and, later, a forlorn widow. By examining manipulations of her image by the critical tradition in later imperial times and into the twentieth century, Ronald C. Egan brings to light the ways in which critics sought to accommodate her to cultural norms, molding her “talent” to make it compatible with ideals of womanly conduct and identity. Contested images of Li, including a heated controversy concerning her remarriage and its implications for her “devotion” to her first husband, reveal the difficulty literary culture has had in coping with this woman of extraordinary conduct and ability. The study ends with a reappraisal of Li’s poetry, freed from the autobiographical and reductive readings that were traditionally imposed on it and which remain standard even today.

Previous translations and descriptions of Li Qingzhao are molded by an image of her as lonely wife and bereft widow formed by centuries of manipulation of her work and legacy by scholars and critics (all of them male) to fit their idea of a what a talented woman writer would sound like. The true voice of Li Qingzhao is very different. A new translation and presentation of her is needed to appreciate her genius and to account for the sense that Chinese readers have always had, despite what scholars and critics were saying, about the boldness and originality of her work. The introduction will lay out the problems of critical refashioning and conventionalization of her carried out in the centuries after her death, thus preparing the reader for a new reading. Her songs and poetry will then be presented in a way that breaks free of a narrow autobiographical reading of them, distinguishes between reliable and unreliable attributions, and also shows the great range of her talent by including important prose pieces and seldom read poems. In this way, the standard image of Li Qingzhao, exemplied by a handful of her best known and largely misunderstood works, will be challenged and replaced by a new understanding. The volume will present a literary portrait of Li Qingzhao radically unlike the one in conventional anthologies and literary histories, allowing English readers for the first time to appreciate her distinctiveness as a writer and to properly gauge her achievement as a female alternative, as poet and essayist, to the male literary culture of her day.

Li Qingzhao ( 1084 1156 CE) of the Song dynasty is indisputably the most brilliant woman writer in Chinese history. This biography offers an insightful interpretation of her character and a new translation of some of her writings. Wei Djao s English rendition consistently captures the poet s elegance, refreshing originality and creativity. Li Qingzhao lived in a turbulent period in Chinese history when half of China was lost to conquerors and two emperors were taken into captivity never to return to China. In this well-researched and eminently readable narrative, the events of her life are set against the backdrop of political and socio-cultural developments in the Song Dynasty. Li Qingzhao in her extant poems expresses many different moods and feelings about personal relationships that still resonate poignantly with the readers today. In her more political works she mocks the emperor and high officials of her day for their cowardice in the face of attack and occupation of northern China by invaders. Her versatility is also shown in a trilogy about a gambling game known as dama (Whipping Horse). In one of her poems, Li Qingzhao sings praise of the small but exquisite plum blossom that buds forth in deep winter, symbolizing the human qualities of integrity and endurance. It is a blossom like no other. It very aptly describes her own life. So much research into Chinese history, yet the book makes such pleasant reading because of the strong point it makes about the character of an unusual woman. As a native Chinese speaker/reader, I have had great joy in savouring the beautiful verses in Chinese and then admiring the flowing translation in English. Dora Choi Po-king, Chinese University of Hong Kong The author provides a prodigious amount of information about Li Qingzhao, and the socio-political background of Song China. Undoubtedly, A Blossom Like No Other, written in an easy and fluent style, sets a new standard for scholarly works in this genre. Allen Wittenborn, San Diego State University The clear writing style makes the indomitable Li Qingzhao and her exquisite poetry accessible to lay people and Chinese literature experts alike. The last chapter presented in the name of Li Qingzhao is the most creative in every conceivable way. Helen Wu, University of Toronto With profound imagination and learning in literature, history, and philosophy of both China and the West, Wei Djao has achieved something quite monumental: conveying Li Qingzhao s unsurpassed literary achievement as palpably human and distinctly memorable for the English speaking readers. Howard Xie, North Seattle Community College Wei Djao has succeeded in transcending the language barriers by meticulously translating Li Qingzhao s songs into equally beautiful English with poetic rhythm. Liqun Cao, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

A brief biography and detailed notes accompany poems by China's greatest woman poet which are full of lucid imagery and reflect her love of the beautiful and artistic as well as the political turmoil of twelfth-century China.

The book also includes an extended section of criticism by and about women writers.