chin. 50 guan daosheng

8/10/2019 Chin. 50 Guan Daosheng

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Talent and Fate

Guan

Daosheng and Huang

E

Apart

from

the few

female poets

from elite families

whose

collections

have

been

preserved, thete were

mafly

other women

authots of compa-

rable

status

from this

period

who were

less fortunate and

fot

whom only

a

handful of poems are ext^nt.

Some of these

'womeri

poets,

such as

Guan Daosheng and

Huang

E,

enjoyed considerable

reputations during

their lifetimes. Guan

Daosheng

was

the

wife of

the

farnous

painter,

cal-

ligrapher,

and poet

Zhao Mengfii

(r254-r3zz),

and

a major paintet, callig-

rapher, and

poet

in

her

own

right.

Huang

E

was the

wife

of

the

well-

known

polymath

Yang

Shen

Qa88-r559).

Artist andArtist's

lYife: Caan

Daosheng

Guan Daosheng's husband

Zhao

Mensfu was a

native

of

\X/uxing,

lo-

cated

about

halfway

between

Suzhou

znd Hangzhou. He

.was

a member

of

the

impedal

family

of

the Song

dynasty, established

a

teputation

as

the

finest

painter of

his

age,

and ear\

on

held

an

official

post

under that dy-

nasty.

Following the flnal conquest

of southern China

tn o76-1278

by

the

Mongols, he retired to

the

hills.

Because of

his fame, he

was

repeatedly

pressured

to

come

to the

capital,

Dadu

(present-day

Beijing),

and

finally,

in

o87,

he

made his first

trip

north to take

up a

post

undet the Yuan dy-

nasty

(1260-1368).

He

soon

returned to the south, but

in n8g he zgatn

traveled

north, this time accompanied

by

his

young wife. Throughout

his

lsfe

Zhao Mengfu

would

feel

totn

between

his loyalty to the pteceding

dvnasty

and the attractions

of honor

and wealth, an ambivalence which

he

often

expressed

in

his

poetry, but

which

did

not

stop

him from

pursu-

ing

a successful career.

Out

most

impoftant

source

for

the

life of

Guan Daosheng

is

a gtave

inscdption

wdtten

by

her husband.

It

was

customary

for

such

a

text,

engraved in

stone, to

be

buried with

the coffin of the dsss2ssd-fu1

oi course it

was

usually also

preserved

in the

collected

writings

of

the

author.

A

Grave

Inscription {orLady

Guan,

Lady

of

the

State

of

NTei

The

personal

name

of

the Lady was

Daosheng, her surname was Guan,

her

style

.ime

was

ZhangSi,

and

she

was

a native of Wuxing.

Her

ancestors were scions

z8r

on

the

part

of

they

have

of

the

"shallow

and

claim

she

these

It

would

ap-

Zheng

To what

genefal

devel-

but

Yang

seem

to indi-

to the grow-

to

bteak

away

known

in later

as

a

young

Thus,

an

to

the follow-

het

eadiest

years

But

because

her

and

she

her com-

Later

rczd-

suffedng.



282

Talent

and Fate

of

Guan

Zhong,

who had

fled the

troubles

in

the state

of

Qi

by coming

to

l7uxing.ts

Because

people

considered

them

to

be

sages,

the

village

where they

setded

is

still called

Xrxian

[Sages'

Roost].

Her father's

personal

name

was

Shen

and his

style name

was

zhifu;

her mother

was

surnamed

zhot.

Sir

Guan had

an

eccefltric

character,

and

was renowned

throughout the

village

for

his

chivalry.

He

had

an

extremely

high

opinion

of his

daughter

who

had

shown herself

to

be

of

extraordinary

intelligence

from

the moment

of

her

birth, and he

was

deter-

mined

to find

her

a suitable

match.

I

was Jiving

in the

same neighborhood,

and

her father

also held

a

high

opinion

of

me. He

was

convinced that I

would

rise

to

a

high

position,

and

so

the

Lady married

me.

In

the twenty-fourth

year

of

the reign

period

ultimate Prime

[Zhi1,uan,

r27t-

tz94l,

Emperor

Shizu

[Khubilai

I{han]

summoned me

to court.

From

being

a

common

ciazen

I

was appointed

Grand

Master

for Admonishment

and

Direc-

tor in

the Ministry

of

\Var.

\x4ren in the

t\r/enty-sixth

year

I

returned

on official

business

to

Hangzhou,

the Lady

accompanied

me

back

to the

capital.

Later

r

was appointed

Secretary

Serving in

the

Hall of

Assembled

Sages

concurrently

Sewing

as

Prefect

ofJinan.

\x4ren

Emperor

chengzong

summoned

me

to

serve

in the

Bureau

of

Historiography,

the

Lady

agatn

accompanied

me.

rff{hen

I re-

signed

my

appointment

because

of

illness,

she returned

with me

to

nfluxing.

At

the

end

of my term

as Inspector-General

of Confucian

Schools in

Jiangnan

and

zheliang,

I

was appointed

prefect

of

ratzhou.

\x4een

the

present

emperor

was

still the

crown

prince,

he

dispatched

an envoy

to

summon me,

whereupon

I

was

appointed

Reader

in

the

Hanlin

Academy.

Again

the Lady

accompanied

me

to

the

capital.

This

was

in

the

winter of the

third

year

of

the reign

period

Ultimate

Greatness

lzlida,

r3o8-r3u].

In

the following

ye r, the

empero(

ascended

the

thtone,

and

as a

special

mark

of favor

I

was appointed

Secretary

in

the

Hall

of

Assembled

sages and

Grand

Master

for

Palace

Attendance,

while

the

Lady

was

enfeoffed

as

Lady

of

the Commandery

of

\)7uxrng.

During

the fitst

year

of

the

rergn

period Imperial

Blessing

[Huangqing,

r3lz-

t3r3], I

requested

leave

to

return

home

where

I

erected a stele

on

behalf of my

ancestors.

Now the I-ady

had

wanred to

name

an heir to

the

Guan

family

as

there

was

no

surviving

adult

son, but,

unable

to

find a

suitable

person,

she

turned

the

old

family

home

into

the

Guan

Family Household

Daoist

Shrine of

Filial Remembtance

and assigned

a

Daoist priest

to take care

of

the

ancestral

t5.

Guan zhong

(d.

a+s

ecr)

was

the most

important

minister

of Duke

Huan

of

ei

(r.

684-64

ecr)

and

greatly

contributed

to the

growing power

of

ei

during this

period.

Soon upon

Duke

Huan's

death, however,

Qi

was devastated

by civil

war

as

various

princes

disputed

over

who would

succeed

to the

throne.

sacrifice.

:'-'l

her

Daoist

S::--re'"

DurinE

-,Ie

oe

again

tbllorred

m

frrppio..,

[YanY

,fr.

U*fr",\.'d"

of

the

State

oi

\

disease

beriberi,

to

take

her

Pulse

I

requested

and

twentY-fifth

daY

of

tlre

fiftf"t

Mo

eight

Years

old,

Together

w

tn.

.

.l

daY

of

of

Mount

Don

had

given

birth

daughters'The

.r.h

of

the

fo

though

she

ha

erary

comPos

,.lrti.r.,

and

and

the

seaso

her

illness'

T

a

fiJl

auaY

o

would

haPPe

S4:ren

she

en

anY

stingines

she

would

al

The

LadY

tens

of

coPi

i-arnous

mon

The

Son

:od

then

ha

=e

lmPeria

16'

Funer

::e

&aft

of

:

r:nPilation



28+

Talent and Fate

collection.

Then

he

also ordered me

to

write out this same text

in

six different

styles;

Yong

also wrote

it

out

once. The emperor said:

"In

this

way

later

genera-

tions

will

know

that during

our

reign

there lived a lady

who was

accomplished

in calJigraphy. It is

also unusual that aL the members

of

a

single

fam1ly

should

be

accomplished in calligraphy." In

addition, the Lady painted both monochrome

and

colored paintings

of

bamboo

for

presentation

to

the

throne,

which

also

met

vrith

the emperor's approbation,

and for

which

she

received a

gSft of

a

jug

of

wine of

dre highest

quality from

the

imperial

store.

When

once the Lady

was

re-

ceived

in

audience

by

the

empress dowager in the Xingsheng Palace,

she was ai-

lowed

to

sit down and

was

honored

with

a

meal-she

was showered

with

fa-

vors.

To

be

thus

acknowledged

by both the emperor and the empress dowager

was

truly to

bask

in

glory

\,Xhen

the Lady

died, her relatives on

both

sides

of

the family

were all deeply

moved, and alL

those who had

once

enjoyed

her company

shed tears:

from

this

one cafl appreitate fhe

extent

of

her

virtue.

It

was perhaps

to

avoid

the

charge

that

his

wife

was

a

bluestocking that

Zhao Mengfu

stressed het natural,

nther

than acquired, talents for

paint-

ing,

caliigraphy, and

poetry.

A fair numbet of

paintings attributed to

Guan Daosheng have

been

preserved, but

in

many

cases

their authentic-

ity

is

disputed.

The few

of her poems

that are extant today have almost

without

exception

been preserved

because

they were

inscribed

on her

paintings.

Sent

to My

Husband: Painted

Bamboo

The

day

you left, my lord

and master, the

bamboo

had

just

been planted,

Now

the

bamboo

has grown

into

a

grove, but you have not

yet

retuffred.

Once my jade-white

face has

lost its

beauty,

it

will

be

gone

forever,

Unlike

flowers that

fall,,

only later to

blossom yet

^golfl

and again.

Painted Plum

Trees

After

the snow,

white branches

are

frag1le,

Covered

with

frost,

jade

pistils

are

cold.

Yonder

village is no place for them:

Move them to the

moon for

viewingl

Guan Daosheng's best-known

poems are

probabiy

the four

song

lyrics

she

wrote

to the tune

of

"Fisherman's Song"

(Yrrfrti). These lydcs

were

otiginally

wfitten

as

an

inscription

on

one

of

her own

paintings,

said

to

ha

Da

ot

er

k

an

lo

:c

,r

s'-



Talent

and

Fale

have

been

executed

sometime

between

r3ro

and

r3rz

when

she

was

in

Dadu

€rr).

In

this

set

of

lyrics,

she

contrasts

the

harried

life

of

a

court

official,

burdened

with

obligations,

with

the

carefree

existence

of

a

fish-

erman

in

her

home

district

of

\Wuxing:

I

Ftom

afar,I

think

of my

mountain

cortage

with its

severar

plum

trees:

Despite

the

icy

cold,

jade

brossoms

open

on

their

southern

branches.

The

mountain

moon

shines,

The

morning

wind

blows-

It

is

all

because

of

their

pure

fragrance

that

I so rong

to

return

home

II

Gazing

south

toward

7uxing,

four

thousand

miles

of road_

\)7hen

will I

be

able

to

return

to

the

banks

of

the

river

Zha?

Fame and

profit

I'll

leave

to

Heaven,

Smiling,

I'11

fetch

my

angiing

rod

and

board

my

fishing

boat.

III

My

body

is

here

in

the

yan

mountains

near

the

imperial

residence,

But

with

homesick

heartl

think

of

Wuxing

by night

and

by day.

Pouring

fine

wine,

Mincing

fresh

fish:

I

know

of

nothing

to compare

with

that

life

of

pure

leisurel

IV

The

highest

honor

in

human

rife

is the

rank

of

prince

or

duke,

But

for

fleeting

fame

and passing

ptofit

one

gives

up

freedom.

How

could

that

compare

With

a singie

boat-

So let's

go home,

enjoy

the

moonlight,

and

chant

in

the

breeze

It

is

not

surprising

to

find

in

a

gtave inscription

a

cata\ogue

of

the

virtues

and

honors

of

the

deceased,

rathet

than

an

impassioned

declaration

of

love.

However,

by

so

strongly

emphasizing

the

fact

that

Guan

Daosheng

accompanied

him

on

a1l his

travels,

zhao

Mengfu

suggests

that

the

two

of

them

must

have

been

very

close.

euite

often

an official,s

wife would

stay

behind

in

his

home

village

in

order

to

take

care

of her

parents-in-law,

285

six different

later

genera-

accomplished

should

be

monochrome

also

met

Ladv

\r/as

fe-

she

rvas

al-

rrith

fa-

dorrager

Jl deeph-

::Om

thiS

"*

\

--:-::

\

-

?

-

-.-

_-:,

::

-;:':

_:.



286

Talent

and

Fate

Iook

after

the

family

esrate,

and

taise

the

children,

while

her

husband,

,Ii..T#:::l,i:::T#.#.,ui'.,,,"i;;i"ilq,:*,op,ace

egend

(firsr

writen

ao*.,

'rri;;;-.

t:

"ll

"try

popular,

if

.r,r,.r'ru,.,

once

suggested

to

his

wife

that

his

,ri?.:7n^?.

Mengfu

is

said

to

have

the

acquisiti

on

of

afew

concubines:

atus

(and

his

wife's

age)

called

for

Once,

when

Zhao

I

rowing,r".,,rl,.*.:il.-lT.TlT:

j:,TJr;"&",fi

1lli,i"J;:.J?:.*1:.,

I

am

a

Secretary,

you

are

aLadv.

you

must

have

heard

that

Secretary

t*

nig

hi,

p.r.h

L.

af

and,peach

Rooq

ecretary

t"

n11r:

r"r""*ti."Ol"o

Evening

C.loud.17

ow

if

I

could

obtain

,

,.i,-'""*

"

Maidens

of

$7u

-"ju

-.

aheady:i:,

ffiT:,.il::::

wourd

bent

mv

position.

yet

rn

rhis jade

halJ

yo,

..iLl

*ur;;i.,

Lady

Guan

repried

as

folowsr

onopolize

springl

You

and

I

Share

an

ardent

passion.

W4ren

passion

is

ardent,

It

burns

Iike

fire.

Take

one

Iump

of

clay

I(nead

one

you,

Sculpt

one

me.

Smash

them

both

.

Mix

them

#;;,':i

Pieces,

Knead

another

you,

Sculpt

another

me:

Inmy

clay

there

is

you,

^,

-

t7.

S;cretary

Tao

is

Tao

Gu

(ror_rro),

rr*-.----...-...-..-.-.-.....--

ion

to

the

"decadent,,

cou.

of

the

southo

"^

;^:ffr:?lof

the

Song

dynasry.

on

a

mis_

*'"

uLLa(renr

court

of

&e

Southern

Tlr

oulg

ovnasfy.

On

a

mis_

T"'alt

,

it

rurned

oo,

h.

*r.lu;d#'::

.":|fl,lm',g},

he

seemed

ro

be

a

pillar

o:

au..a

by

u;;."#;f

was

susceptibl'

to

f'mrl.nrr-;;;;.;;:;r;:

fl

:;*T,"in'#:il:::[.,T#:i#J;::ft'.8dfl

Hm



Talent and Fate

In

your clay

there is

me.

In

life

you and I

share a

single covedet,

In

death

a single grave

when

her

husband received

this

song, he laughed

heartily

and

did not

pursue

his intention

any further.

An

Exile's

Wfe: HuangE

Huang

E

was the

second daughter

of

the

famous

scholar Huang

I(e

(r449-r5zz)

and

the

secofld

wife of the

well-known

exile

Yang

Shen

(ta88-t559).

Yang

Shen

was

a

nattve

of

Xindu

district in

Sichuan

prov-

ince.

His father

had

been

a

high

cour

official

and he

himself

passed

the

metropolitan

examinations

in

ryn

at the

top

of

the list.

He

appeared

to be

destined

for

a brllltant

career,

but

in

ry24

he

provoked

the

ire

of

the

youngJiajing

emperor

(r.

ryzz-t566)

and

was

banished

as a

common

sol-

diet

to Yongchang

in

westernmost

Yunnan.

Despite

the

pleas

of

yang,s

former

colleagues,

the

Jiajing

emperor

repeatedly

refused

to

pardon him,

and

Yang

spent

the rest

of his

life

in fanway

Yunnan,

where

he

found

the

time to

write

on every

conceivable

topic

and in

every known

kterary

genre.

His wife

Huang

E is

said to have

been

"well

read

in

the classics

and

Histories,

and

a

fine

ptose writer."

Huang

E had

initially

accompanied

her

husband

to

his

place

of

exile,

but after

the death

of

her

father-in-law

in r5z9

she returned

to

Xindu,

where

she managed

the

family

estate.

She

and het

husband

continued

to

exchange

poems.

According to her

biographical

sketch

in

the

collected

Po-

ems

of tbe

Sunexiae

furgot (Liechao

shxli)

by

Qian

Qianyi

(r582-t664)

and his

wife,

Liu

Shi,

"she

rady

vryote shi

poems,

and did

not

leave

a

collection:

not

evefr

the younger

members

of

the family

ever

saw her

poems.

How-

ever,

the

song lyrics

and

short songs

she

sent

to

Yang

Shen

were handed

down

and recited

by the ltterary

crowd."

And

so

not

long

atter her

death,

collections

of

"het"

works

started

to appe

t. F;atJly in

the

seventeenth

century,

for

instance,

a

Suzhou publisher

printed a

collection

of

arias

(qu)

ander her

name.

The

qu

is

a

more

vernacular

genre

of

song lyric

that

had

become popular

in

the

thirteenth

cenrury

and later.

The

arias

in

this

Suzhou

collection

are

unusual

in

their uninhibited

description

of

the

pleasutes

of love.

\Mhen

ofle compares

the

contents

of

this

collec-

tion

with

those

of

Yang

Shen, though,

it is

clear

that

the

overwhelming

287

her

husband,

to

place

if

rather

late,

said

to

have

called

for

rrrote

the

fol-

matter:

O::

:

=_.-

--€

-:

:'L: :

-:s't-.-

-.-

;a:;

:f__-:_-

S_ ,

chin. 50 guan daosheng

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