Drunk in Blossom Shade by LI QINGZHAO
醉花陰 (李清照)
audio excerpt fm mainland Chinese historical drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)
poetry/folk melody from the Song dynasty
This is one of my most favourite scenes in the drama bec. not only is it exquisitely mesmerising but also since I'm highly interested in the works of Li Qingzhao. The song sounded differently from other interpretations - still melodiously pleasing, very wistfully sentimental and sweet---I just had to capture it. As such, this is just an audio excerpt from an episode in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace in which Li Qingzhao's poem ''Drunk in Blossom Shade'' was sung and interpreted in a dance by Lady Yehe-Nara Yihuan/future Consort Shu (Amy Chen) for the Qianlong Emperor (Wallace Huo) during the Double Ninth Festival celebration held at the palace's banquet hall. Speaking parts of some of the drama's characters as well as some sound effects can thus be heard. To be specific:
**POSSIBLE SPOILER**
@1:07 Concubine Chun (Ke Hu): ''His Majesty loves poetry. This young lady is indeed uncommon.''
@1:12 Noble Lady Jia (Xin Zhilei): ''Uncommon? She can't even sing in tune. What is this that she's singing?'' (At this juncture, Hailan/Noble Lady Hai [Janine Chang] furtively gave her a side-eye.)
@1:18 Noble Consort Hui (Tong Yao): ''This is Li Qingzhao's ''Drunk in Blossom Shade''.'' (At this juncture, Noble Lady Jia's eyes quickly moved from side to side, obviously taken aback and feeling embarrassed at Noble Consort Hui's retort.)
@1:28 Qianlong Emperor (Wallace Huo): ''Subtle steps taken as if sliding over water. Reciting a poem with every step. This is refreshing and meaningful. It's indeed original.''
@1:35 Empress Dowager Chongqing (Vivian Wu): ''Mmm…'' (The empress dowager is feeling very pleased since she was the one who eagerly arranged this meeting or introduction between Yihuan/Lady Yehe-Nara and the Qianlong Emperor.)
PS: She had no speaking parts, but Empress Fuca (Dong Jie) threw a couple of glances during the performance, obviously a gallimaufry of apprehension, upset, and jealousy.
Pls feel free to comment abt the singer/poem-song or the drama.
Xie xie!
I found this lovely montage of Yihuan/Lady Yehe-Nara/Consort Shu on YT:( • 【如懿传】【舒妃_意欢剪辑】【红颜劫】 ).
[Li Qingzhao, Wade-Giles romanization Li Ch’ing-chao, literary name (hao) Yi’an Jushi, also called Li Yi’an, (born 1084, Jinan, Shandong province, China-died after 1155, Jinhua, Zhejiang province), China’s greatest woman poet, whose work, though it survives only in fragments, continues to be as highly regarded as it was in her own day. . . . Li Qingzhao produced seven volumes of essays and six volumes of poetry, but most of her work is lost except for some poetry fragments. She wrote primarily ci poetry, a song form. Her mastery of the metrical rules of the form was such that she produced one of the earliest known scholarly studies of ci. Her poetry is noted for its striking diction as well as for her focus on relating her personal experiences, giving her work more emotional intensity than that of her peers. Her poetic oeuvre reflects the dramas of her lifetime, with the earlier works marked by a carefree vitality and the pieces that she wrote after her husband’s death and her exile reflecting a sombre, grief-stricken tone.] (brittanica.com)
Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung's Eng. trans. of ''Ninth Day, Ninth Month'' to the tune of ''Drunk with Flower Shadows'' fm my copy of their 1979 book ''LI CH'ING-CHAO: COMPLETE POEMS'':
''Thin fog under thick clouds,
Sadness endures through the long day.
Auspicious Dragon incense
Rises from the gold animal.
Again it is the Ninth of the Ninth Month.
At midnight my jeweled pillow
And gauze-curtained bed
Were saturated with chill.
Now in the yellow twilight
I drink by the Eastern wall,
And a mysterious perfume fill my sleeves,
And carries away my soul.
The West Wind blows the curtains
And I am frailer than the yellow chrysanthemums.''
Translation by Jiaosheng Wang (Complete Ci-poems of Li Qingzhao: A New English Translation):
''Fine mist, thick clouds:
A day of sadness drags on.
The incense in the gilt animal-burner is running out.
Once more the festive day of Double Ninth returns,
And my mesh-curtained bed and jewelled pillows
Are just drenched in the chill of midnight.
Beside the east hedge I drink after dusk;
A subtle fragrance fills my sleeves.
Don't say one is not pining away!
When the west wind blows the blinds aside,
I am frailer than the chrysanthemums.''
Rakuten Viki Synopsis: ''The road to becoming an empress is paved with treachery. Ruyi (Zhou Xun) is a consort who quickly learns to navigate the treacherous politics of the the royal court and move up the ranks. After becoming Empress, Ruyi still must survive the many conspiracies against her. Her relationship with Emperor Qianlong (Wallace Huo) becomes eroded even when Ruyi is able to overcome the challenges. Can Ruyi maintain her role as Empress...''
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