Fading Flowers

Li QingzhaoBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.8

Word count: 3.4K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

When the rain and mist fade, cicadas trill in the treetops; rustling chill leaves drop onto my robe. Crows scatter from the noisy branches and sink into the dark ridges; a pestle is worked in the high wind rising toward the blue void. In a hundred years of dream life, I grieve like a butterfly; in one morning of fragrance's death, I weep like a lotus.

Editor's review

This book collects poems by Li Qingzhao. Under the title "Faded Flowers," the text interweaves images of clear-voiced cicadas, misty rain, cool leaves, scattered crows, high winds, butterflies, and lotus blossoms, creating a melancholy atmosphere of sparse autumn and fleeting prosperity. The couplet "In a hundred-year dream, I mourn the butterfly; in a single morning, fragrance dies and the lotus weeps" sets the lament that life is like a dream alongside regret for flowers withered and fragrance gone. The language is concise and the feeling deeply restrained, reflecting Li Qingzhao's characteristic delicate touch and keen sensitivity to the seasons and the natural world. Its value lies in presenting rich layers of emotion in a short space: there is both meticulous depiction of natural scenery and subtle awareness of life's impermanence. It is suited to slow reading in a quiet setting, savoring the rhythm and imagery of the lines again and again; it can also serve as an introductory piece for understanding Li Qingzhao's poetic style, to be read alongside her ci poetry in order to appreciate the differences in expression across genres.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Li Qingzhao's work and wish to expand into her poetry
Literature enthusiasts interested in classical poetic imagery and lyric technique
Students who need to appreciate the blending of scene and feeling in short works

Not a good fit for

Researchers expecting a complete collection of Li Qingzhao's poetry and lyrics or detailed chronological textual scholarship
Readers who prefer long narrative or strongly plotted literary works
Beginners completely unfamiliar with classical poetic expression who need line-by-line vernacular explanation

Reading tips

First read the poem aloud softly to feel the emotional rhythm carried by its sounds and rhymes
Circle the core images couplet by couplet and see how description of scenery advances the emotion layer by layer
Read alongside Li Qingzhao's lyrics and compare how she expresses feeling differently in poetry and in ci
After reading, try to summarize the emotional movement of the poem in two or three sentences to test your understanding

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
【闲居早秋】罗隐
卷658_19【建康】罗隐
卷658_20【送舒州宿松县傅少府（一题作送宿松傅少府）】罗隐
卷658_21【经故洛阳城】罗隐
卷658_22【夏州胡常侍】罗隐
卷658_23【寄进士卢休】罗隐
卷658_24【赠先辈令狐补阙】罗隐
卷658_25【送秦州从事】罗隐
卷658_26【湖州裴郎中赴阙后投简寄友生】罗隐
卷658_27【秋日泊平望驿寄太常裴郎中】罗隐
卷658_28【西塞山（在武昌界，孙吴以之为西塞）】罗隐
卷658_29【秋日汴河客舍酬友人（一作汴州客舍有酬）】罗隐
卷658_30【东归】罗隐
卷658_31【广陵李仆射借示近诗因投献】罗隐
卷658_32【三衢哭孙员外】罗隐
卷658_33【箧中得故王郎中书】罗隐
卷658_34【泪】罗隐
卷658_35【子规】罗隐
卷658_36【姑苏台】罗隐
卷658_37【王濬墓】罗隐
卷658_38【京中晚望】罗隐
卷658_39【寄窦泽处士二首】罗隐
卷659_1【省试秋风生桂枝】罗隐
卷659_2【思故人】罗隐
卷659_3【寄陆龟蒙（李相公在淮南征陆龟蒙诗）】罗隐
卷659_4【题方干诗】罗隐
卷659_5【秋江】罗隐
卷659_6【寄制诰李舍人】罗隐
卷659_7【秋日怀孟夷庚】罗隐
卷659_8【送李右丞分司】罗隐
卷659_9【郴江迁客】罗隐
卷659_10【感旧】罗隐
卷659_11【鹰】罗隐
卷659_12【秋日寄狄补阙】罗隐
卷659_13【寄易定公乘亿侍郎】罗隐
卷659_14【寄大理徐郎中（一本大理下有寺字）】罗隐
卷659_15【寄苏拾遗（拾遗，许公之后，今犹居开元中旧第）】罗隐
卷659_16【寄许融（一题作与于韫玉话别）】罗隐
卷659_17【寄礼部郑员外】罗隐
卷659_18【菊】罗隐
卷659_19【台城】罗隐
卷659_20【旧游】罗隐
卷659_21【寄虔州薛大夫】罗隐
卷659_22【苏小小墓】罗隐
卷659_23【寒食日早出城东】罗隐
卷659_24【秋日怀贾随进士】罗隐
卷659_25【乱后逢友人】罗隐

FAQ

What emotion does this poem mainly convey?

Judging from the lines recorded in the material, the poem unfolds around desolate autumn scenery, using images such as the clear cicada, cool leaves, butterflies, and lotus to convey sorrow over passing time and fleeting splendor and a lament that life is like a dream. The emotion is subtle and layered, with both the cool charm of scenic description and a deep awareness of life's impermanence.

What technique is used in "A hundred years of dream life, grieving the butterfly"?

This couplet likens a human lifetime to a dream and sets it against the life and fragrant death of butterflies and lotus, a method of expressing feeling through objects and blending the real and the imagined. The butterfly and lotus are both scenery before the eyes and carriers of the poet's regret that beautiful things cannot last; readers can appreciate the effect through the parallel structure and the juxtaposition of images.

Do I need to know Li Qingzhao's biography to read this poem?

Biographical research is not a prerequisite. As far as the lines recorded in the material go, the work's imagery is complete and its emotional thread clear, so one can begin directly with the text. If readers have some basic knowledge of Li Qingzhao, it can help them appreciate her delicate style, but one should not over-interpret specific experiences away from the text.

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About the author

Li Qingzhao Author · Chinese · 1084–1155

Li Qingzhao (1084–c. 1155), styled Yi'an Jushi, was a native of Zhangqiu in Qizhou (present-day Jinan, Shandong) and a Song dynasty woman poet who became a leading figure of the delicate and restrained ci school. In her early years she lived in comfortable circumstances and, together with her husband Zhao Mingcheng, collected and studied inscriptions, bronzes, calligraphy and paintings; after the Jin invasion she moved south and lived in hardship. Her ci are notable for plain, vivid description and clear, natural language, revealing genuine feeling within restraint. She also argued that ci constituted "a distinct genre," stressing its independent musical and aesthetic character apart from shi poetry, an idea with lasting influence in classical Chinese literary criticism. Later generations compiled her Shuyu Ci, and this library holds twenty-four of her works, including annotated and unannotated collections, her Cilun, and complete editions of her ci, showing the continuing transmission of her writing and views on ci poetics.