Magpie at Night

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

A luminous new translation of the greatest poets in Chinese history

Li Qingzhao is justly celebrated for her place in Chinese literary history. She was a poet with a wry, unsentimental style and a rich sense of melody. Her ci - lyrics that were originally set to music - are glorious in their depth and genius, spare and arresting on the line. They evoke with rare immediacy the haunting beauty of country life during the Song dynasty; the unseen, restive labour of the poet; and Li Qingzhao's bracing take on what it means to create art as a woman in the shadow of exile, war, imprisonment, and an unwelcoming literary establishment.

In Wendy Chen's splendid new translation, each poem is as sharp and fresh as the edge of a new spring leaf. These richly textured bolts of melody are masterpieces of verse, as resonant and bracing today as they were in the eleventh century; and they underscore Li Qingzhao status as a necessary and iconic literary figure.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241774076
Published: September 2025

Number of pages: 160
Width: 136 mm
Height: 217 mm
Depth: 12 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd