Born Wang Shishi, her mother died soon after her birth. Her father fed her bean starch to keep her alive. Her father, Wang Yin, was worker in a clothing pigment factory in Bianjing. When Li was four, her father was jailed for delaying an Imperial textile order. He later died in prison. Li went at first to an orphanage but was later taken in by a procuress named Li Yun, who owned a brothel. Li Yun changed the girl's surname to Li. (Her given name, Shishi, has Buddhist connotations. Li was taken to the entertainment district Jinqian Xiang and put to work as a young prostitute.
Courtesan
Li was renown for her beauty and artisticabilities. Amongst her admirers were the renowned poet and bureaucrat Zhou Bangyan and the outlaw Song Jiang. Her frame spread to the Emperor, Huizong, who visited her in disguised as a business man in 1109. Her charm and elegance led him to visit her whenever he could after the meeting. Their relationship became on open secret in Bianjing. Some sources relate that Li Shishi moved into the Emperor's palace and was given the title Lady of Ying State. Other sources say Huizong had a tunnel dug from the palace to Li Shishi's house. Part of the story is told in the classic novel, the Water Margin. In 1126 Huizong took responsibility for overwhelming losses during the Jin–Song Wars and abdicated in favour of his eldest son Zhao Huan. Realising she was in a precarious position, Li Shishi donated all the gifts from Huizong to the army who were putting up a valiant defence, and requested the Emperor's permission to become a Daoist nun. In 1127 Bianjing was overrun by the Jin army. Huizong and his court was captured and Huizong later died, ending the Northern Song dynasty. Li is reported to have fled south, although other accounts give that she committed suicide by swallowing a gold hairpin after she was offered to Jin commander.
In fiction
In the classical novel Water Margin, Li Shishi encounters the outlaws from Liangshan Marsh on two occasions; on the second, more important encounter, she befriends Yan Qing and agrees to become her sworn sister. She then promises Yan Qing that she will tell the emperor about the outlaws' plight and desire to be granted amnesty.
Poems about Li Shishi
Song Dynasty poet Chao Chongzhi described Li Shishi's dancing and singing talents as follows:
Watch her dance to "Nichang Yuyi Qu", listen to her recite / sing "Yushu Houting Hua".
