Li Bai
"Li Po" redirects here. For LiPo batteries, see Lithium ion polymer battery.Li Bai or
Li Po (
701-
762) was a
Chinese poet who lived during the
Tang Dynasty.
His name was traditionally pronounced Li Bo or Li Po (depending on the romanisation), hence the familiar name Li Po by which he has long been known in the West. However, the use of the pronunciation 'bó' (
pinyin romanisation), originally associated with the reading of
Classical Chinese, has largely disappeared in modern
China, partly as a result of
language planning and
standardisation.
Called the
Poet Immortal, Li Bai is often regarded, along with
Du Fu, as one of the two greatest poets in
China's literary history. Approximately 1,100 of his poems remain today. The
Western world was introduced to Li Bai's works through the very liberal
translations of
Japanese versions of his poems made by
Ezra Pound.
Li Bai is best known for the extravagant imagination and striking
Taoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for
liquor. Like
Du Fu, he spent much of his life travelling, although in his case it was because his wealth allowed him to, rather than because his poverty forced him. He is said to have drowned in the
Yangtze River, having fallen from his boat while drunkenly trying to embrace the reflection of the moon.
Li Bai's birthplace is uncertain, but one candidate is Suiye in
Central Asia (near modern day
Tokmok,
Kyrgyzstan). However his family had originally dwelled in what's now southeastern
Gansu [Two accounts given by contemporaries Li Yangbing (Preface to the Thatched Cottage Collection) and Fan Chuanzheng (Tang's Zuo Sheyi Hanlin Xueshi Li Gong's Xin Mubei Bingxu) stated that his families was originally from what's now southeastern Gansu, as in the Xin Tangshu 215.], and were later moved from Suiye to Jiangyou, near modern
Chengdu in
Sichuan province, when he was five years old. He was influenced by
Confucian and
Taoist thought, but ultimately his family heritage did not provide him with much opportunity in the aristocratic Tang Dynasty. Though he expressed the wish to become an official, he did not sit for the
Chinese civil service examination. Instead, beginning at age twenty-five, he travelled around China, enjoying wine and leading a carefree life -very much contrary to the prevailing ideas of a proper Confucian gentleman. His personality fascinated the aristocrats and common people alike and he was introduced to the Emperor
Xuanzong around
742.
He was given a post at the
Hanlin Academy, which served to provide a source of scholarly expertise and poetry for the Emperor. Li Bai remained less than two years as a poet in the Emperor's service before he was dismissed for an unknown indiscretion. Thereafter he wandered throughout China for the rest of his life. He met
Du Fu in the autumn of
744, and again the following year. These were the only occasions on which they met, but the friendship remained particularly important for the starstruck Du Fu (a dozen of his poems to or about Li Bai survive, compared to only one by Li Bai to Du Fu). At the time of the
An Lushan Rebellion he became involved in a subsidiary revolt against the Emperor, although the extent to which this was voluntary is unclear. The failure of the rebellion resulted in his being exiled a second time, to Yelang. He was pardoned before the exile journey was complete.
Li Bai died in Dangtu, or modern day
Anhui. Traditionally he was said to have drowned attempting to kiss the moon's reflection in a river; some scholars believe his death was the result of
mercury poisoning due to a long history of imbibing Taoist longevity
elixirs while others believe that he died of
alcohol poisoning.
Over a thousand poems are attributed to him, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. He is best known for his
yue fu poems, which are intense and often
fantastic. He is often associated with
Taoism: there is a strong element of this in his works, both in the sentiments they express and in their spontaneous tone. Nevertheless, his
gufeng ("ancient airs") often adopt the perspective of the Confucian moralist, and many of his occasional verses are fairly conventional.
Much like the genius of
Mozart there exist many legends on how effortlessly Li Bai composed his poetry; he was said to be able to compose at an astounding speed, without correction. His favorite form is the
jueju (five- or seven-character
quatrain), of which he composed some 160 pieces. Li Bai's use of language is not as erudite as Du Fu's but impresses equally through an extravagance of imagination and a direct correlation of his free-spirited persona with the reader. Li Bai's interactions with nature, friendship, and his acute observations of life inform his best poems. Some, like
Changgan xing (translated by
Ezra Pound as
A River Merchant's Wife: A Letter), record the hardships or emotions of common people.
One of Li Bai's most famous poems is
Drinking Alone under the Moon (月下獨酌, pinyin Yuè Xià Dú Zhuó), which is a good example of some of the most famous aspects of his poetry -- a very spontaneous poem, full of natural imagery and
anthropomorphism:
Amongst the flowers is a pot of wineI pour alone but with no friend at handSo I lift the cup to invite the shining moon,Along with my shadow we become party of threeThe moon although understands none of drinking, andThe shadow just follows my body vainlyStill I make the moon and the shadow my companyTo enjoy the springtime before too lateThe moon lingers while I am singingThe shadow scatters while I am dancingWe cheer in delight when being awakeWe separate apart after getting drunkForever will we keep this unfettered friendshipTill we meet again far in the Milky WayLi Bai is known in the West partly due to
Ezra Pound's versions of some of his poems in
Cathay, and due to
Gustav Mahler's integration of four of his works in
Das Lied von der Erde. These were in a German translation by
Hans Bethge, published in an anthology called
Die chinesische Flöte (
The Chinese Flute), that in turn followed a French translation.
A crater on the planet
Mercury has been named after him.
A History of World Societies Fourth Edition by McKay Hill Buckler. Copyright Houghton Mifflin 1999. Pg. 328-329.
*
Open Directory Project category*
Li Po Poems, illustrated with Nature Photos
*
Li Bai's poems included in
300 Selected Tang poems, translated by
Witter Bynner.
zh-yue:李白
