It is that time of the year again when the entire Hangzhou is intoxicated by the sweet-scented osmanthus flowers. A Ci poem by Li Qingzhao springs to one's mind.

To the Tune of Huan Xi Sha (Expanded Version):

Rising from illness, I find more greying in my thinning temple hairs;

Lying on the bed, I watch the waxing moon climb above window screens.

Together with shoots, cardamom seeds are boiled for me,

For there's no need to brew tea.

On my pillow I can read books at leisure,

While the doorstep scene in rain gives much pleasure.

Keeping me company all day long through my lonely hours

Are the sweet osmanthus flowers.

In the poem, despite the companionship of sweet osmanthus flowers and her claim that "the doorstep scene in rain gives much pleasure", Li Qingzhao was in fact feeling rather melancholic.

Born in Jinan in China's Shandong province, Li Qingzhao (1084-1155) is considered one of the nation's greatest female poets. She is believed to have created To the Tune of Huan Xi Sha (Expanded Version) when she was 50 and just a few years after the Northern Song (960-1127) court had moved to Zhejiang. The Ci poem, which describes her life after her recovery from illness, is so realistic and such a departure from her general writing style that some argued it was not authored by Li at all.

The shift was thought to lie in a change of fortunes for her, both personally and dynastically. Raised in a family of scholar-officials, Li Qingzhao received a good education in her childhood. Her poetry was already well-known within elite circles before she married Zhao Mingcheng in (1081-1129). The couple had common interests in art collection and epigraphy, and enjoyed a comfortable and happy life which served as an inspiration for some of her love poems.

Things took a turn for the worse when the Northern Song was forced to flee to the south as its capital fell to the Jurchens. On their way to the south, Zhao died of illness, and this loss was a crushing blow from which Li never recovered. Li and her husband had collected books, paintings and calligraphies, but they were mostly lost, stolen or burnt during the process.

In 1132, Li Qingzhao arrived in Hangzhou and her life as a refugee had finally come to an end. At the time, an official by the name of Zhang Ruzhou started courting her, and they soon got married.

But as it turned out, Zhang had ulterior motives for marrying Li - he coveted the precious collections that she was believed to possess. Upon learning that Li had little to none after the marriage, Zhang started treating her badly and would even beat her up at times. Li later filed for divorce, which the authorities granted.

This series of unfortunate events led to Li falling ill, and it was during this time that she wrote To the Tune of Huan Xi Sha (Expanded Version).

For more than two decades after Li reached Hangzhou in the spring of 1132, she journeyed back and forth between Jinhua and Hangzhou many times. In fact, Qingzhao Pavilion, which was named after her, was set up in 2002 by the West Lake to commemorate the ill-fated lady.