Guan Daosheng (管道昇 , 1262-1319)—A Yuan dynasty woman poet

Widely recognized as the earliest woman painter of China, Guan Daosheng became the paradigm of the cultivated Chinese gentry woman in her time and the time that followed. The wife of the famous painter and calligrapher, Zhao Menfu (1254-1322), Guan was an accomplished painter and calligrapher in her own right. While she painted and wrote in the styles similar to those of the male literati, which was rare among woman poets, she was conscious of building up her own style and identity. She inscribed her poems on her paintings, making them available to modern readers. Her poems, even those inscribed on her paintings, are characterized by deep concerns for her husband and children. However, they were written in a humorous or a sarcastic fashion. The first poem here serves as an admonition to her husband who was interested in taking a concubine. The second poem is the fourth of a series of poems attempted at telling her husband to resign office.

1) On an Inn Bamboo Sent to Zi’ang [Zhao Mengfu] 〈寄子昂君墨竹〉Jì Zĭ-ăng mò zhú

夫君去日竹初栽，竹子成林君未來。

玉貌一衰難再好，不如花落又花開。

Fū jūn qù rì zhú chū zaī, zhú zi chéng lín jūn wèi laí

Yù maò yì shuai nán zaì haŏ, bù rú huā luò yòu huā kaī

On the day milord left, the bamboo was first planted;

The bamboo has already formed a grove and milord has yet to return.

Once my jade visage has faded it can hardly be restored—

Unlike a flower which dies to bloom again.

2) §　漁父詞之四　§

(The Fisherman’s Song, #4)

人生貴極是王侯，浮名浮利不自由。爭得似，一扁舟，弄月吟風歸去休。

Rén shēng guì jí shì wáng hóu, fú míng fú lì bú zì yoú.

Zēng dé sì, yì piān zhōu, nòng yuē yín fēng guī qù xīu.

The greater positions in human life belong to princes and marquises.

But fleeting wealth, fleeting fame are not freedom.

How can they compare

With a single boat,

Appreciating the moon, chanting with the wind, and returning home to rest?