Liu Qingyun (Chinese: 刘清韵; pinyin: Liú Qīngyùn; c. 1841 – c. 1900), courtesy name Guxiang,[1] was a Chinese playwright and poet. She has been described as "the most prolific woman playwright of the nineteenth century".
Liu Qingyun | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1841 Donghai, Jiangsu, China |
| Died | c. 1900 (aged 58–59) |
| Occupation | Poet Playwright |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Literary movement | Qing dynasty |
| Surname: | Liu (刘) |
| Given name: | Qingyun (清韵) |
| Courtesy name: | Guxiang (古香) |
Early life and family
editLiu Qingyun was born during the Qing dynasty in 1841[1] or 1842[2] in Donghai (modern day Lianyungang), Jiangsu.[1] Her father, Liu Yuntang, was a successful businessman[1] and also a "high official",[2] and was around fifty when Qingyun, his first child, was born.[1] Her mother was surnamed Wang. Afterwards, Wang bore two more girls.[1] At a young age, Qingyun already demonstrated exceptional linguistic capabilities, and proved to be talented in painting and writing poetry.[3] Aged eighteen, she wed Qian Meipo, who hailed from an affluent family in Haizhou.[4] The couple had no biological children, although they adopted a girl named Mincai when Liu was around thirty years old.[3]
Career and death
editAs a playwright, Liu's works were well-received by contemporary critics.[4] Liu was influenced by the works of Pu Songling; at least three of her plays were inspired by stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. An Unsung Hero (丹青副) is based on "Tian Qilang"; Prelude to the Phoenix from Heaven (天风引) is based on "The Raksha Country and the Sea Market"; and The Whistle of the Flying Rainbow (飞虹啸) is inspired by "Mistress Geng".[4] Liu was also a prolific poet, and wrote more than two hundred poems in her lifetime. These poems were later compiled into two anthologies with the help of her husband[5] and her tutor Wang Yi.[4] Qian also assisted in the compilation of Liu's plays, which numbered twenty-four in total; a copy of Plays from the Pavilion of the Immortals of Xiao Penglai is now housed at the National Taiwan University.[3] A "catastrophic" series of floods in Shuyang in 1897, however, destroyed a sizeable portion of Liu's works.[3] Little is known about Liu Qingyun's death; most sources state that she died "after 1900".[5] According to the Chinese Dictionary of Chinese Literature, Liu died in 1916.[5] Wilt Idema and Beata Grant write in The Red Brush that Liu Qingyun was "by far the most prolific woman playwright of the nineteenth century".[2]
Select works
editPlays
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d e f Stefanowska, Lee & Lau 2015, p. 139.
- ^ a b c Idema & Grant 2004, p. 72.
- ^ a b c d Stefanowska, Lee & Lau 2015, p. 140.
- ^ a b c d Stefanowska, Lee & Lau 2015, p. 141.
- ^ a b c Stefanowska, Lee & Lau 2015, p. 142.
- ^ Chen 2003, p. 288.
- ^ Zurndorfer 2005, p. 206.
Bibliography
edit- Chen, Liana (June 2003). "Homeward Odyssey: Theatrical Reframing of "The Rakshas and the Sea Market"" (PDF). Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre, and Folklore (140): 279–306.
- Idema, Wilt; Grant, Beata (2004). The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674013933.
- Stefanowska, A. D.; Lau, Clara; Lee, Lily Xiao Hong (2015). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: V. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Hong Kong: Routledge. ISBN 9781317475880.
- Zurndorfer, Harriet (2005). Nan Nü: Men, Women, and Gender in Early and Imperial China. Brill.