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by Elsie Choy (Author)
This is an authentic history of a Chinese female poet, He Shuangqing. She lived at a time when people regarded men as superior to women. However, she was fortunate to have some scholar acquaintances who were open-minded. They spurned the traditional attitude towards her sex and showed their appreciation of her poems and her attitude towards life. One of the scholars, Shi Zhenlin, wrote down and recorded her life and poetry in his book Xiqing sanji (West Green Random Notes) so that her poems could be read by more people. Leaves of Prayer is a translation of Xiqing sanji.
Part 1 gives an introduction to Shi Zhenlin's Xiqing sanji and He Shuangqing, the poet. Part 2 is a translation of Xiqing sanji which narrates the vicissitudes of He Shuangqing's life. Part 3 lists the poems of He Shuangqing with their originals written in Chinese calligraphy.Author Biography
Elsie Choy's background spans both America and China, from where her paternal grandparents emigrated to Hawaii in the 1800s. Born in Shanghai, she was raised in both cultures, tutored in the Chinese classics and attended both Chinese and American schools in that city. She worked at the Columbia University on a research project on contemporary cultures under the direction of Ruth Benedict, then Margaret Mead after Benedict's death.
