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Li Bai [701-762] CHN
Ranked #51 in the top 380 poets

Strong sense of the continuity of poetic tradition, glorification of alcoholic beverages and drunkenness, use of persona, fantastic extremes of some of his imagery, mastery of formal poetic rules – and ability to combine all of these with a seemingly effortless virtuosity in order to produce inimitable poetry. Sympathy for the common folks and antipathy towards needless wars (even when conducted by the emperor himself). Fantasy and note of childlike wonder and playfulness that pervade so much of it. Nostalgia. Li Bai also wrote a number of poems from various viewpoints, including the personae of women.

Celebrating the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. Nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai.

Romantic. He and his friend Du Fu were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang Dynasty that is often called the "Golden Age of China". His own dream-like imaginations embroidered with shamanic overtones. Comparing him to Du Fu, Li's poetry "is essentially backward-looking, that it represents more a revival and fulfillment of past promises and glory than a foray into the future."

His life has even taken on a legendary aspect, including tales of drunkenness, chivalry, and the well-known fable that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river.

Also known as Li Bai, Li Po  is considered one of the best of the early Chinese poets ( Tang Dynasty). He is noted for his elegant romantic poetry and of his prolific output around 1000 have survived the centuries in various archives. These include the amazing `Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day`Li Po was born in 701 (some say 705) in what is now known as Suyab, Kyrgyzstan and died in 762 in Dangtu, China. His family name was Li and he is sometimes known as Li Po and Li Bai due to the difficulty of translating certain early Chinese characters.

Li Po, was an acclaimed even in his own times and in modern times is considered a poetic genius. He is a romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. Together with his friend Du Fu (712–770) he was one of the two most prominent figures in the Golden Age of Chinese poetry (in the mid-Tang Dynasty). 

Around a 1000 poems attributed to him have survived, 34 are  included in the classic anthology “Three Hundred Tang Poems” published in the 18th-century at the same time as translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. These  poems celebrate the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. His poems "Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day", "The Hard Road to Shu", and "Quiet Night Thought" are probably his most famous and are still used in schools today. Translations of Li`s poems continue to be made into a wide range of languages and his life has taken on a legendary aspect complete with tales of great drunkenness and persistent  chivalry. There is a well known tale that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river in a drunken spree.

Li`s poetry reflects his own life and places which he visited. He tells tales of friends he saw off on journeys to distant locations never expecting to meet again; of his own dream-like imaginations embroidered with mystical overtones and of (to him) current events. This provides evidence of the changes through which he lived. His early poetry took place in the "golden age" of internal peace and prosperity of the Tang dynasty, but this all changed with the shocking rebellion of general An Lushan when all of northern China was devastated by war and famine. 

Li`s poetry takes on new qualities; sadly, unlike his younger friend Du Fu, Li was not to live to see the suppression of these rebellions. Fortunately much of Li`s poetry has survived and gained lasting popularity in China and the western world.

National, Medieval

YearsCountryPoetInteraction
712-770
CHN
Du Fu
→ friend of Li Bai
1874-1925
USA
Amy Lowell
← influenced by Li Bai
1885-1972
USA
Ezra Pound
← influenced by Li Bai
1893-1976
CHN
Mao Zedong
← influenced by Li Bai
1920-1994
USA
Charles Bukowski
← influenced by Li Bai


WorkLangRating
Alone and Drinking Under the Moon
eng
56
Alone Looking at the Mountain
eng
35
Drinking Alone in the Moonlight
eng
23
Farewell to Meng Hao-jan
eng
6
Yearning
eng
6
Amidst the Flowers a Jug of Wine
eng
5
Chuang Tzu And The Butterfly
eng
5
A Vindication
eng
3
Summer in the Mountains
eng
2
The Moon At The Fortified Pass
eng
2
Waking from Drunken Sleep on a Spring Day.
eng
2
eng
1
A Mountain Revelry
eng
1
A Song Of Changgan
eng
1
About Tu Fu
eng
1
Autumn River Song
eng
1
Clearing at Dawn
eng
1
Climbing West Of Lotus Flower Peak
eng
1
Drinking With Someone In The Mountains
eng
1
Going Up Yoyang Tower
eng
1
Listening to a Flute in Yellow Crane Pavillion
eng
1
Mountain Drinking Song
eng
1
On Dragon Hill
eng
1
Question And Answer On The Mountain
eng
1
Remembering the Springs at Ch’ih-chou
eng
1
Resentment Near the Jade Stairs
eng
1
Self-Abandonment
eng
1
She Spins Silk
eng
1
Song of the Forge
eng
1
Talk in the Mountains
eng
1
The River-Captai
eng
1
Three Poems on Wine
eng
1
To Tan-Ch`iu
eng
1
To Tu Fu from Shantung
eng
1
Visiting The Taoist Priest Dai Tianshan But Not Finding Him
eng
1
Waterfall at Lu-shan
eng
1
A Farewell To Secretary Shuyun At The Xietiao Villa In Xuanzhou
eng
0
A Song Of An Autumn Midnight
eng
0
Amusing Myself
eng
0
Ancient Air
eng
0
Autumn Air
eng
0
Ballads Of Four Seasons: Spring
eng
0
Ballads Of Four Seasons: Summer
eng
0
Ballads Of Four Seasons: Winter
eng
0
Bathed and Washed
eng
0
Before The Cask of Wine
eng
0
Bringing in the Wine
eng
0
Changgan Memories
eng
0
Ch`ing P`ing Tiao
eng
0
Confessional
eng
0
Crows Calling At Night
eng
0
Down from the Mountain
eng
0
Down Zhongnan Mountain
eng
0
Drinking in the Mountains
eng
0
Farewell to Secretary Shu-yun at the Hsieh Tiao Villa in Hsuan-Chou
eng
0
For Meng Hao-Jan
eng
0
For Wang Lun
eng
0
Gold painted jars - wines worth a thousand.
eng
0
Good Old Moon
eng
0
Hard Is The Journey
eng
0
Hearing A Flute On A Spring Night In Luoyang
eng
0
His Dream Of Skyland
eng
0
Ho Chih-chang
eng
0
In Spring
eng
0
Lament for Mr Tai
eng
0
Lament of the Frontier Guard (Translated by Ezra Pound)
eng
0
Laolao Ting Pavilion
eng
0
Leaving White King City
eng
0
Lines For A Taoist Adept
eng
0
Long Yearning
eng
0
Long Yearning (Sent Far)
eng
0
Looking For A Monk And Not Finding Him
eng
0
Lu Mountain, Kiangsi
eng
0
Mêng Hao-jan
eng
0
Midnight Song of Wu
eng
0
Nefarious War
eng
0
Old Poem
eng
0
On Kusu Terrace
eng
0
Reaching the Hermitage
eng
0
Seeing Off A Friend
eng
0
Seeing Off Meng Haoran For Guangling At Yellow Crane Tower
eng
0
Sent To Du Fu Below Shaqiu City
eng
0
Sitting Alone On Jingting Shan Hill
eng
0
Song Of The Jade Cup
eng
0
Staying The Night At A Mountain Temple
eng
0
Taking leave of a friend
eng
0
The Cold Clear Spring At Nanyang
eng
0
The Exile’s Letter
eng
0
The Old Dust
eng
0
The River-Merchant`s Wife
eng
0
The Roosting Crows
eng
0
Thoughts On A Still Night
eng
0
To His Two Children
eng
0
To My Wife on Lu-shan Mountain
eng
0
Viewing Heaven`s Gate Mountains
eng
0
Visiting A Taoist On Tiatien Mountain
eng
0
Wine
eng
0
‘We Fought for - South of the Walls
eng
0

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