Li Qingzhao

Li Qingzhao (Chinese: 李清照; pinyin: Lǐ Qīngzhào; Wade–Giles: Li Ch'ing-chao; 1084 – ca 1151), pseudonym Yi'an Jushi (易安居士), was a Chinese poetry writer and poet of the Song dynasty.

Biography

Li Qingzhao was born 1084 in Zhangqiu (modern Shandong province) into a family of scholar-officials. Her father was a student of Su Shi. He had a large collection of books and Li was educated during her childhood. She was unusually outgoing and knowledgeable for a woman of noble birth.

Before she got married, her poetry was already well known within elite circles. In 1101 she married Zhao Mingcheng, with whom she shared interests in art collection and epigraphy. They lived in present-day Shandong. After he started his official career, her husband was often absent. They were not particularly rich but shared enjoyment of collecting inscriptions and calligraphy which made their daily life count and they lived happily together. This inspired some of the love poems that she wrote. Li and her husband collected many books. They shared a love of poetry and often wrote poems for each other as well as writing about bronze artifacts of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.