Li Po: 705 - 762 (sometimes referred to as Li Bo - or as Li Bai) From early times a thorough knowledge of the art of creating and reciting poetry as well as of its history was a required attribute of the the educated Chinese ruling classes. Poets themselves were held in great esteem and were able to earn a living by practising their art in the households of the nobility. Li Po lived during the T'ang Dynasty in the first half of the 8th century. He was one of the most celebrated poets of the golden age of Chinese poetry. It is not easy to differentiate between truth and myth in the story of Li Po's life. He was brought up in the west of China in Szechwan province, but at the age of 19 he left home and began his travels throughout China. He is said to have met up with a Taoist scholar and to have become very much influenced by Taoist philosophy as his writing shows. From then on he seems to have spent his time writing poems and enjoying nature and the pleasures of wine. His verses are the epitome of classical Chinese poetry. They follow Taoist principles and are generally simple and for their subject matter concentrate on the everyday features of a poet's life. The patterns of nature repeat and the poet's emotions range from joy to despair. His poems have a musical quality and are coloured with rich and exact imagery. They amply illustrate the Taoist pleasure derived from the awesome tranquillity of mountains and rivers. Li Po is said to have met his death, after a heavy bout of drinking, by attempting to embrace the reflection of the moon on the water. Many of his poems take the pleasures of wine as a theme and he often wrote about the moonlight world.

Selected Verses of LI PO I have selected just 4 of Li Po's shorter poems to illustrate his style and his themes. Night Thoughts I wake and moonbeams play around my bed Glittering like hoarfrost to my wondering eyes Upwards the glorious moon I raise my head Then lay me down and thoughts of home arise       (Tr.By H.A.Giles) Dialogue in the Mountains You ask me why I lodge in these emerald hills; I laugh, don't answer - my heart is at peace. Peach blossoms and flowing waters go off to mysterious dark, And there is another world, not of mortal men.		Parting at a Wine-shop in Nan-king A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop, And a girl from Wu, pouring wine, urges me to share it. With my comrades of the city who are here to see me off; And as each of them drains his cup, I say to him in parting, Oh, go and ask this river running to the east If it can travel farther than a friend's love! Spring Night in Lo-yang Hearing a Flute In what house, the jade flute that sends these dark notes drifting, scattering on the spring wind that fills Lo-yang? Tonight if we should hear the willow-breaking song, who could help but long for the gardens of home?

Looking for a Monk and Not Finding Him A poem by Li Po - translated by Rewi Alley Source: Li Bai: 200 Poems, Hong Kong, 1980 I took a small path leading up a hill valley, finding there a temple, its gate covered with moss, and in front of the door but tracks of birds; in the room of the old monk no one was living, and I staring through the window saw but a hair duster hanging on the wall, itself covered with dust; emptily I sighed thinking to go, but then turning back several times, seeing how the mist on the hills was flying, and then a light rain fell as if it were flowers falling from the sky, making a music of its own; away in the distance came the cry of a monkey, and for me the cares of the world slipped away, and I was filled with the beauty around me.

Readers of this page may be interested in visiting the:- Li Po Society of America online This Society is "a cultural association dedicated to bridging East and West, now in its twelfth year." In fact, it is actually a more general site devoted to Asian poetry and poetic forms.

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