Qiao Ji
Encyclopedia
Qiao Ji also known as Qiao Jifu (乔吉甫) was a major Chinese dramatist and poet
in the Yuan Dynasty. He was originally from Taiyuan
in Shanxi
, but lived in the West Lake
area in Zhejiang
province. His courtesy name was Mengfu (梦符) and his pen name was Shenghao Weng (笙鹤翁). Qiao was said to have maintained an aloof and intimidating demeanor, to the point people were in awe of him, according to the Record of Ghosts (录鬼簿. Of his many plays eleven are still extant.
Both his plays Jinqian Ji (金钱记) and Yangzhou Meng (扬州梦) reached the pinnacle of notoriety in his day and are still celebrated. His extant sanqu
lyric poetry are also numerous. There are 209 xiaoling lyrics exist as well as 11 taoshu suites. All were collected into the Complete Sanqu Poems. In addition his collected works, Qiao Ji Ji, appeared in 1986. An object of the poet's lyrics was a combination of literary elegance and the language of the street. The poet insisted on what was his "six character prescription" which he explained as a lyric poem with a "phoenix head, pig's belly and a leopard tail." The poet tells us that he “wandered for forty years.” He traveled around many of the central and southern areas of China. Qiao's influence on later drama was considerable.
Expressing my sorrow on a winter day
Myself
Leisure
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
in the Yuan Dynasty. He was originally from Taiyuan
Taiyuan
Taiyuan is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River...
in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
, but lived in the West Lake
West Lake
Xī Hú is a famous fresh water lake located in the historic center of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China. The lake is divided by the causeways of Sū Tí , Bái Tí , and Yánggōng Tí...
area in Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province. His courtesy name was Mengfu (梦符) and his pen name was Shenghao Weng (笙鹤翁). Qiao was said to have maintained an aloof and intimidating demeanor, to the point people were in awe of him, according to the Record of Ghosts (录鬼簿. Of his many plays eleven are still extant.
Both his plays Jinqian Ji (金钱记) and Yangzhou Meng (扬州梦) reached the pinnacle of notoriety in his day and are still celebrated. His extant sanqu
Sanqu
Sanqu was a type of verse, compiled by Zhou Deqing , popular in the Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, with tonal patterns modeled on tunes drawn from folk music.-Yuan Dynasty Sanqu:...
lyric poetry are also numerous. There are 209 xiaoling lyrics exist as well as 11 taoshu suites. All were collected into the Complete Sanqu Poems. In addition his collected works, Qiao Ji Ji, appeared in 1986. An object of the poet's lyrics was a combination of literary elegance and the language of the street. The poet insisted on what was his "six character prescription" which he explained as a lyric poem with a "phoenix head, pig's belly and a leopard tail." The poet tells us that he “wandered for forty years.” He traveled around many of the central and southern areas of China. Qiao's influence on later drama was considerable.
Quotations
Enjoying LeisureI refine autumn mists in my alchemist stove
And heat pure snow in my tea boiler.
Blossoms fall and waters swirl by my thatch hut,
Like the spring breeze in places long lost.
Call a woodcutter, tip the gourd and drink the dregs of cloud-pale grog.
Lean against a screen, I’m a saint drunk on dew on a pure bed of cold stone.
Hanging on a vine
A wild gibbon talks to the moon, bright through my pale papered window.
This old one awakens from his sleep.
Expressing my sorrow on a winter day
Winter and Cold,
The time of snow.
Who will be the withered plum’s companion?
A fisherman’s skiff
Is moored by an islet;
His coat of green reeds cannot keep out the wind and frost.
A fish takes the barb of his hook.
Wind
Blows his hair thin;
Frost
Chaps and cracks his hands.
Myself
Never counted among the dragons,
Never entered the lists of greats.
Always the wine sage,
Everywhere the verse seer.
A graduate of mists,
A drunken saint of river and lake.
Jokes and laughs were my official career;
Got stuck.
Wrote notes for forty years instead
On the mad and crazy wind and moon.
Leisure
In the hills among trees,
Hut of thatch secluded and fine.
Faded green pines, bright green of bamboos
Fit for a painting;
Three or four homes near the misty village.
The soaring dream pursued falling flowers,
For the taste of the world was like a chewed candle.
This man need only bear his own whitened head,
Not follow the monkey of his mind.
I plant my melons,
Pick my tea,
Smelt cinnabar in the alchemist stove;
Read a chapter of the Way and Power,
Talk a while the chat of a fisherman.
At leisure enclosed in my groves and fences;
Lie down drunk beneath a bottle-gourd trellis,
Just pure and unmoved, just me!