Names

Li Bai's name has been romanized as Li Bai, Li Po, Li Bo (romanizations of Standard Chinese pronunciations), and Ri Haku (a romanization of the Japanese pronunciation). The varying Chinese romanizations are due to the facts that his given name (白) has two pronunciations in Standard Chinese: the literary reading bó (link=no|w=po2) and the colloquial reading bái; and that earlier authors used Wade–Giles while modern authors prefer pinyin. The reconstructed version of how he and others during the Tang dynasty would have pronounced this is Bhæk. His courtesy name was Taibai (太白), literally "Great White", as the planet Venus was called at the time. This has been romanized variously as Li Taibo, Li Taibai, Li Tai-po, among others.

He is also known by his art name (hao) Qīnglián Jūshì, meaning Householder of Azure Lotus (that is, Qinglian town), or by the nicknames "Immortal Poet" (Poet Transcendent; Wine Immortal (酒仙 Jiuxiān|w=Chiu3-hsien1), Banished Transcendent (谪仙人 Zhéxiānrén), Poet-Knight-errant (诗侠 Shīxiá, or "Poet-Hero"). The Japanese pronunciation may be romanized as "Ri Haku"or "Ri Taihaku".

Life

The two "Books of Tang", The Old Book of Tang and The New Book of Tang, remain the primary sources of bibliographical material on Li Bai. Other sources include internal evidence from poems by or about Li Bai, and certain other sources, such as the preface to his collected poems by his relative and literary executor, Li Yangbin.

Background and birth

Li Bai is generally considered to have been born in 701, in Suyab (碎叶) of ancient Chinese Central Asia (present-day Kyrgyzstan), where his family had prospered in business at the frontier. Afterwards, the family under the leadership of his father, Li Ke (李客), moved to Jiangyou (江油), near modern Chengdu, in Sichuan, when the youngster was about five years old. There is some mystery or uncertainty about the circumstances of the family's relocations, due to a lack of legal authorization which would have generally been required to move out of the border regions, especially if one's family had been assigned or exiled there.

Background

Two accounts given by contemporaries Li Yangbing (a family relative) and Fan Chuanzheng state that Li's family was originally from what is now southwestern Jingning County, Gansu. Li's ancestry is traditionally traced back to Li Gao, the noble founder of the state of Western Liang. This provides some support for Li's own claim to be related to the Li dynastic royal family of the Tang dynasty: the Tang emperors also claimed descent from the Li rulers of West Liang. This family was known as the Longxi Li lineage (陇西李氏). Evidence suggests that during the Sui dynasty, Li's own ancestors, at that time for some reason classified socially as commoners, were forced into a form of exile from their original home (in what is now Gansu) to some location or locations further west. During their exile in the far west, the Li family lived in the ancient Silk Road city of Suiye (Suyab, now an archeological site in present-day Kyrgyzstan), and perhaps also in Tiaozhi (条枝 Tiáozhī), a state near modern Ghazni, Afghanistan. These areas were on the ancient Silk Road, and the Li family were likely merchants. Their business was quite prosperous.

Birth

In one hagiographic account, while Li Bai's mother was pregnant with him, she had a dream of a great white star falling from heaven. This seems to have contributed to the idea of his being a banished immortal (one of his nicknames). That the Great White Star was synonymous with Venus helps to explain his courtesy name: "Tai Bai", or "Venus".

Marriage and family

Li is known to have married four times. His first marriage, in 727, in Anlu, Hubei, was to the granddaughter of a former government minister. His wife was from the well-connected Wú (吴) family. Li Bai made this his home for about ten years, living in a home owned by his wife's family on Mt. Bishan (碧山). In 744, he married for the second time in what now is the Liangyuan District of Henan. This marriage was to another poet, surnamed Zong (宗), with whom he both had children and exchanges of poems, including many expressions of love for her and their children. His wife, Zong, was a granddaughter of Zong Chuke (宗楚客, died 710), an important government official during the Tang dynasty and the interregnal period of Wu Zetian.

Early years

In 705, when Li Bai was four years old, his father secretly moved his family to Sichuan, near Chengdu, where he spent his childhood. There is currently a monument commemorating this in Zhongba Town, Jiangyou, Sichuan province (the area of the modern province then being known as Shu, after a former independent state which had been annexed by the Sui dynasty and later incorporated into the Tang dynasty lands). The young Li spent most of his growing years in Qinglian (青莲; lit. "Blue translated as 'green', 'azure', or 'nature-coloured' Lotus"), a town in Chang-ming County, Sichuan, China. This now nominally corresponds with Qinglian Town (青莲镇) of Jiangyou County-level city, in Sichuan.

The young Li read extensively, including Confucian classics such as The Classic of Poetry (Shijing) and the Classic of History (Shujing), as well as various astrological and metaphysical materials which Confucians tended to eschew, though he disdained to take the literacy exam. Reading the "Hundred Authors" was part of the family literary tradition, and he was also able to compose poetry before he was ten. The young Li also engaged in other activities, such as taming wild birds and fencing. His other activities included riding, hunting, traveling, and aiding the poor or oppressed by means of both money and arms. Eventually, the young Li seems to have become quite skilled in swordsmanship; as this autobiographical quote by Li himself both testifies to and also helps to illustrate the wild life that he led in the Sichuan of his youth:

Before he was twenty, Li had fought and killed several men, apparently for reasons of chivalry, in accordance with the knight-errant tradition (youxia).

In 720, he was interviewed by Governor Su Ting, who considered him a genius. Though he expressed the wish to become an official, he never took the civil service examination.

On the way to Changan

Leaving Sichuan

In his mid-twenties, about 725, Li Bai left Sichuan, sailing down the Yangzi River through Dongting Lake to Nanjing, beginning his days of wandering. He then went back up-river, to Yunmeng, in what is now Hubei, where his marriage to the granddaughter of a retired prime minister, Xu Yushi, seems to have formed but a brief interlude. During the first year of his trip, he met celebrities and gave away much of his wealth to needy friends.

In 730, Li Bai stayed at Zhongnan Mountain near the capital Chang'an (Xi'an), and tried but failed to secure a position. He sailed down the Yellow River, stopped by Luoyang, and visited Taiyuan before going home. In 735, Li Bai was in Shanxi, where he intervened in a court martial against Guo Ziyi, who was later, after becoming one of the top Tang generals, to repay the favour during the An Shi disturbances. By perhaps 740, he had moved to Shandong. It was in Shandong at this time that he became one of the group known as the "Six Idlers of the Bamboo Brook", an informal group dedicated to literature and wine. He wandered about the area of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, eventually making friends with a famous Daoist priest, Wu Yun. In 742, Wu Yun was summoned by the Emperor to attend the imperial court, where his praise of Li Bai was great.

At Changan

Wu Yun's praise of Li Bai led Emperor Xuanzong (born Li Longji and also known as Emperor Minghuang) to summon Li to the court in Chang'an. Li's personality fascinated the aristocrats and common people alike, including another Taoist (and poet), He Zhizhang, who bestowed upon him the nickname the "Immortal Exiled from Heaven". Indeed, after an initial audience, where Li Bai was questioned about his political views, the Emperor was so impressed that he held a big banquet in his honor. At this banquet, the Emperor was said to show his favor, even to the extent of personally seasoning his soup for him.

Emperor Xuanzong employed him as a translator, as Li Bai knew at least one non-Chinese language. Ming Huang eventually gave him a post at the Hanlin Academy, which served to provide scholarly expertise and poetry for the Emperor.

Emperor Minghuang, seated on a terrace, observes Li Bai write poetry while having his boots taken off (Qing dynasty illustration).When the emperor ordered Li Bai to the palace, he was often drunk, but quite capable of performing on the spot.

Li Bai wrote several poems about the Emperor's beautiful and beloved Yang Guifei, the favorite royal consort. A story, probably apocryphal, circulates about Li Bai during this period. Once, while drunk, Li Bai had gotten his boots muddy, and Gao Lishi, the most politically powerful eunuch in the palace, was asked to assist in the removal of these, in front of the Emperor. Gao took offense at being asked to perform this menial service, and later managed to persuade Yang Guifei to take offense at Li's poems concerning her. At the persuasion of Yang Guifei and Gao Lishi, Xuanzong reluctantly, but politely, and with large gifts of gold and silver, sent Li Bai away from the royal court. After leaving the court, Li Bai formally became a Taoist, making a home in Shandong, but wandering far and wide for the next ten some years, writing poems. Li Bai lived and wrote poems at Bishan (or Bi Mountain (碧山), today Baizhao Mountain (白兆山)) in Yandian, Hubei. Bi Mountain (碧山) in the poem Question and Answer Amongst the Mountains (山中问答 Shanzhong Wenda) refers to this mountain.

Meeting Du Fu

He met Du Fu in the autumn of 744, when they shared a single room and various activities together, such as traveling, hunting, wine, and poetry, thus established a close and lasting friendship. They met again the following year. These were the only occasions on which they met, in person, although they continued to maintain a relationship through poetry. This is reflected in the dozen or so poems by Du Fu to or about Li Bai which survive, and the one from Li Bai directed toward Du Fu which remains.

War and exile

At the end of 755, the disorders instigated by the rebel general An Lushan burst across the land. The Emperor eventually fled to Sichuan and abdicated. During the confusion, the Crown Prince opportunely declared himself Emperor and head of the government. The An Shi disturbances continued (as they were later called, since they lasted beyond the death of their instigator, carried on by Shi Siming, and others). Li Bai became a staff adviser to Prince Yong, one of Ming Huang's (Emperor Xuanzong's) sons, who was far from the top of the primogeniture list, yet named to share the imperial power as a general after Xuanzong had abdicated, in 756.

However, even before the empire's external enemies were defeated, the two brothers fell to fighting each other with their armies. Upon the defeat of the Prince's forces by his brother the new emperor in 757, Li Bai escaped, but was later captured, imprisoned in Jiujiang, and sentenced to death. The famous and powerful army general Guo Ziyi and others intervened; Guo Ziyi was the very person whom Li Bai had saved from court martial a couple of decades before. His wife, the lady Zong, and others (such as Song Ruosi) wrote petitions for clemency. Upon General Guo Ziyi's offering to exchange his official rank for Li Bai's life, Li Bai's death sentence was commuted to exile: he was consigned to Yelang. Yelang (in what is now Guizhou) was in the remote extreme southwestern part of the empire, and was considered to be outside the main sphere of Chinese civilization and culture. Li Bai headed toward Yelang with little sign of hurry, stopping for prolonged social visits (sometimes for months), and writing poetry along the way, leaving detailed descriptions of his journey for posterity. Notice of an imperial pardon recalling Li Bai reached him before he even got near Yelang. He had only gotten as far as Wushan, when news of his pardon caught up with him in 759.

Return and other travels

When Li received the news of his imperial reprieve, he returned down the river to Jiangxi, passing on the way through Baidicheng, in Kuizhou Prefecture, still engaging in the pleasures of food, wine, good company, and writing poetry; his poem "Departing from Baidi in the Morning" records this stage of his travels, as well as poetically mocking his enemies and detractors, implied in his inclusion of imagery of monkeys. Although Li did not cease his wandering lifestyle, he then generally confined his travels to Nanjing and the two Anhui cities of Xuancheng and Li Yang (in modern Zhao County). His poems of this time include nature poems and poems of socio-political protest. Eventually, in 762, Li's relative Li Yangbing became magistrate of Dangtu, and Li Bai went to stay with him there. In the meantime, Suzong and Xuanzong both died within a short period of time, and China had a new emperor. Also, China was involved in renewed efforts to suppress further military disorders stemming from the Anshi rebellions, and Li volunteered to serve on the general staff of the Chinese commander Li Guangbi. However, at age 61, Li became critically ill, and his health would not allow him to fulfill this plan.

Death

The new Emperor Daizong named Li Bai the Registrar of the Left Commandant's office in 762. However, by the time that the imperial edict arrived in Dangtu, Anhui, Li Bai was already dead.

There is a long and sometimes fanciful tradition regarding his death, from uncertain Chinese sources, that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat one day he had gotten very drunk as he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River, something later believed by Herbert Giles. However, the actual cause appears to have been natural enough, although perhaps related to his hard-living lifestyle. Nevertheless, the legend has a place in Chinese culture.

A memorial of Li Bai lies just west of Ma'anshan.

Calligraphy

Li Bai was also a skilled calligrapher, though there is only one surviving piece of his calligraphy work in his own handwriting that exists today. The piece is titled Shàng yáng tái (Going Up To Sun Terrace), a long scroll (with later addition of a title written by Emperor Huizong of Song and a postscript added by Qianlong Emperor himself); the calligraphy is housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.

Surviving texts and editing

Even Li Bai and Du Fu, the two most famous and most comprehensively edited Tang poets, were affected by the destruction of the imperial Tang libraries and the loss of many private collections in the periods of turmoil (An Lushan Rebellion and Huang Chao Rebellion). Although many of Li Bai's poems have survived, even more were lost and there is difficulty regarding variant texts. One of the earliest endeavors at editing Li Bai's work was by his relative Li Yangbing, the magistrate of Dangtu, with whom he stayed in his final years and to whom he entrusted his manuscripts. However, the most reliable texts are not necessarily in the earliest editions. Song dynasty scholars produced various editions of his poetry, but it was not until the Qing dynasty that such collections as the Quan Tangshi (Complete Tang Poems) made the most comprehensive studies of the then surviving texts.

Themes

Critics have focused on Li Bai's strong sense of the continuity of poetic tradition, his glorification of alcoholic beverages (and, indeed, frank celebration of drunkenness), his use of persona, the fantastic extremes of some of his imagery, his mastery of formal poetic rules—and his ability to combine all of these with a seemingly effortless virtuosity to produce inimitable poetry. Other themes in Li's poetry, noted especially in the 20th century, are sympathy for the common folk and antipathy towards needless wars (even when conducted by the emperor himself).

Poetic tradition

Li Bai had a strong sense of himself as being part of a poetic tradition. The "genius" of Li Bai, says one recent account, "lies at once in his total command of the literary tradition before him and his ingenuity in bending (without breaking) it to discover a uniquely personal idiom...." Burton Watson, comparing him to Du Fu, says 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." Watson adds, as evidence, that of all the poems attributed to Li Bai, about one sixth are in the form of yuefu, or, in other words, reworked lyrics from traditional folk ballads. As further evidence, Watson cites the existence of a fifty-nine poem collection by Li Bai entitled Gu Feng, or In the Old Manner, which is, in part, tribute to the poetry of the Han and Wei dynasties. His admiration for certain particular poets is also shown through specific allusions, for example to Qu Yuan or Tao Yuanming, and occasionally by name, for example Du Fu.

A more general appreciation for history, is shown on the part of Li Bai in his poems of the huaigu genre, or meditations on the past, wherein following "one of the perennial themes of Chinese poetry", "the poet contemplates the ruins of past glory".

Rapt with wine and moon

John C. H. Wu observed that "while some may have drunk more wine than Li Bai, no-one has written more poems about wine." Classical Chinese poets were often associated with drinking wine, and Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars in Chang'an his fellow poet Du Fu called the "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup." The Chinese generally did not find the moderate use of alcohol to be immoral or unhealthy. James J. Y Liu comments that zui in poetry "does not mean quite the same thing as 'drunk', 'intoxicated', or 'inebriated', but rather means being mentally carried away from one's normal preoccupations ..." Liu translates zui as "rapt with wine". The "Eight Immortals", however, drank to an unusual degree, though they still were viewed as pleasant eccentrics. Burton Watson concluded that "nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai".

One of Li Bai's most famous poems is "Waking From Drunkenness on a Spring Day". Arthur Waley translated it as follows:

Fantastic imagery

An important characteristic of Li Bai's poetry "is the fantasy and note of childlike wonder and playfulness that pervade so much of it". Burton Watson attributes this to a fascination with the Taoist priest, Taoist recluses who practiced alchemy and austerities in the mountains, in the aim of becoming xian, or immortal beings. There is a strong element of Taoism in his works, both in the sentiments they express and in their spontaneous tone, and "many of his poems deal with mountains, often descriptions of ascents that midway modulate into journeys of the imagination, passing from actual mountain scenery to visions of nature deities, immortals, and 'jade maidens' of Taoist lore". Watson sees this as another affirmation of Li Bai's affinity with the past, and a continuity with the traditions of the Chuci and the early fu. Watson finds this "element of fantasy" to be behind Li Bai's use of hyperbole and the "playful personifications" of mountains and celestial objects.

Nostalgia

The critic James J.Y. Liu notes "Chinese poets seem to be perpetually bewailing their exile and longing to return home. This may seem sentimental to Western readers, but one should remember the vastness of China, the difficulties of communication... the sharp contrast between the highly cultured life in the main cities and the harsh conditions in the remoter regions of the country, and the importance of family...." It is hardly surprising, he concludes, that nostalgia should have become a "constant, and hence conventional, theme in Chinese poetry."

Liu gives as a prime example Li's poem "A Quiet Night Thought" (also translated as "Contemplating Moonlight"), which is often learned by schoolchildren in China. In a mere 20 words, the poem uses the vivid moonlight and frost imagery to convey the feeling of homesickness. This translation is by Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie:

Use of persona

Li Bai also wrote a number of poems from various viewpoints, including the personae of women. For example, he wrote several poems in the Zi Ye, or "Lady Midnight" style, as well as Han folk-ballad style poems.

Technical virtuosity

Li Bai is well known for the technical virtuosity of his poetry and the mastery of his verses. In terms of poetic form, "critics generally agree that Li Bai produced no significant innovations ... In theme and content also, his poetry is notable less for the new elements it introduces than for the skill with which he brightens the old ones."

Burton Watson comments on Li Bai's famous poem, which he translates "Bring the Wine": "like so much of Li Bai's work, it has a grace and effortless dignity that somehow make it more compelling than earlier treatment of the same."

Li Bai's yuefu poems have been called the greatest of all time by Ming-dynasty scholar and writer Hu Yinglin.

Li Bai especially excelled in the Gushi form, or "old style" poems, a type of poetry allowing a great deal of freedom in terms of the form and content of the work. An example is his poem "蜀道难", translated by Witter Bynner as "Hard Roads in Shu". Shu is a poetic term for Sichuan, the destination of refuge that Emperor Xuanzong considered fleeing to escape the approaching forces of the rebel General An Lushan. Watson comments that, this poem, "employs lines that range in length from four to eleven characters, the form of the lines suggesting by their irregularity the jagged peaks and bumpy mountain roads of Sichuan depicted in the poem."

Li Bai was also noted as a master of the jueju, or cut-verse. Ming-dynasty poet Li Pan Long thought Li Bai was the greatest jueju master of the Tang dynasty.

Li Bai was noted for his mastery of the lüshi, or "regulated verse", the formally most demanding verse form of the times. Watson notes, however, that his poem "Seeing a Friend Off" was "unusual in that it violates the rule that the two middle couplets ... must observe verbal parallelism", adding that Chinese critics excused this kind of violation in the case of a genius like Li.

Influence

In the East

Li Bai's poetry was immensely influential in his own time, as well as for subsequent generations in China. From early on, he was paired with Du Fu. The recent scholar Paula Varsano observes that "in the literary imagination they were, and remain, the two greatest poets of the Tang—or even of China". Yet she notes the persistence of "what we can rightly call the 'Li-Du debate', the terms of which became so deeply ingrained in the critical discourse surrounding these two poets that almost any characterization of the one implicitly critiqued the other". Li's influence has also been demonstrated in the immediate geographical area of Chinese cultural influence, being known as Ri Haku in Japan. This influence continues even today. Examples range from poetry to painting and to literature.

In his own lifetime, during his many wanderings and while he was attending court in Chang'an, he met and parted from various contemporary poets. These meetings and separations were typical occasions for versification in the tradition of the literate Chinese of the time, a prime example being his relationship with Du Fu.

After his lifetime, his influence continued to grow. Some four centuries later, during the Song dynasty, for example, just in the case of his poem that is sometimes translated "Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon", the poet Yang Wanli wrote a whole poem alluding to it (and to two other Li Bai poems), in the same gushi, or old-style poetry form.

In the 20th century, Li Bai even influenced the poetry of Mao Zedong.

In China, his poem "Quiet Night Thoughts", reflecting a nostalgia of a traveller away from home, has been widely "memorized by school children and quoted by adults".

He is sometimes worshipped as an immortal in Chinese folk religion and is also considered a divinity in Vietnam Cao Dai religion.

In the West

Swiss composer Volkmar Andreae set eight poems as Li-Tai-Pe: Eight Chinese songs for tenor and orchestra, op. 37. American composer Harry Partch, based his Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po for intoning voice and Adapted Viola (an instrument of Partch's own invention) on texts in The Works of Li Po, the Chinese Poet translated by Shigeyoshi Obata. In Brazil, the songwriter Beto Furquim included a musical setting of the poem "Jing Ye Si" in his album "Muito Prazer".

Ezra Pound

Li Bai is influential in the West partly due to Ezra Pound's versions of some of his poems in the collection Cathay, (Pound transliterating his name according to the Japanese manner as "Rihaku"). Li Bai's interactions with nature, friendship, his love of wine and his acute observations of life inform his more popular poems. Some, like Changgan xing (translated by Ezra Pound as "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter"), record the hardships or emotions of common people. An example of the liberal, but poetically influential, translations, or adaptations, of Japanese versions of his poems made, largely based on the work of Ernest Fenollosa and professors Mori and Ariga.

Gustav Mahler

The ideas underlying Li Bai's poetry had a profound impact in shaping American Imagist and Modernist poetry through the 20th century. Also, Gustav Mahler integrated four of Li Bai's works into his symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde. These were derived from free German translations by Hans Bethge, published in an anthology called (The Chinese Flute), Bethge based his versions on the collection Chinesische Lyrik by Hans Heilmann (1905). Heilmann worked from pioneering 19th-century translations into French: three by the Marquis d'Hervey-Saint-Denys and one (only distantly related to the Chinese) by Judith Gautier. Mahler freely changed Bethge's text.

Reference in Beat Generation

Li Bai's poetry can be seen as being an influence to Beat Generation writer Gary Snyder during Snyder's years of studying Asian Culture and Zen. Bai's style of descriptive writing assisted in the diversity within the Beat writing style. As well as D.T. Suzuki being a big influence on Snyder's writing and life.

Translation

Li Bai's poetry was introduced to Europe by Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, a Jesuit missionary in Beijing, in his Portraits des Célèbres Chinois, published in the series Mémoires concernant l'histoire, les sciences, les arts, les mœurs, les usages, &c. des Chinois, par les missionnaires de Pekin. (1776–1797). Further translations into French were published by Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys in his 1862 Poésies de l'Époque des Thang.

Joseph Edkins read a paper, "On Li Tai-po", to the Peking Oriental Society in 1888, which was subsequently published in that society's journal. The early sinologist Herbert Allen Giles included translations of Li Bai in his 1898 publication Chinese Poetry in English Verse, and again in his History of Chinese Literature (1901). The third early translator into English was L. Cranmer-Byng (1872–1945). His Lute of Jade: Being Selections from the Classical Poets of China (1909) and A Feast of Lanterns (1916) both featured Li's poetry.

Renditions of Li Bai's poetry into modernist English poetry were influential through Ezra Pound in Cathay (1915) and Amy Lowell in Fir-Flower Tablets (1921). Neither worked directly from the Chinese: Pound relied on more or less literal, word for word, though not terribly accurate, translations of Ernest Fenollosa and what Pound called the "decipherings" of professors Mori and Ariga; Lowell on those of Florence Ayscough. Witter Bynner with the help of Kiang Kang-hu included several of Li's poems in The Jade Mountain (1939). Although Li was not his preferred poet, Arthur Waley translated a few of his poems into English for the Asiatic Review, and included them in his More Translations from the Chinese. Shigeyoshi Obata, in his 1922 The Works of Li Po, claimed he had made "the first attempt ever made to deal with any single Chinese poet exclusively in one book for the purpose of introducing him to the English-speaking world. A translation of Li Bai's poem Green Moss by poet William Carlos Williams was sent as a letter to Chinese American poet David Rafael Wang where Williams was seen as having a similar tone as Pound.

Li Bai became a favorite among translators for his straightforward and seemingly simple style. Later translations are too numerous to discuss here, but an extensive selection of Li's poems, translated by various translators, is included in John Minford and Joseph S. M. Lau, Classical Chinese Literature (2000)

Sample translation

One of Li Bai's best known poems and a good example of his writing is his Drinking Alone by Moonlight (, pinyin: Yuè Xià Dú Zhuó), which has been translated into English by various authors, including this translation, by Arthur Waley:

(Note: the "Cloudy River of the sky" refers to the Milky Way)

To hear the poem read in Chinese and to see another translation, go to Great Tang Poets: Li Bo (701–762) "Drinking Alone under the Moon" Asia For Educators (Columbia University)

In popular culture

• Portrayed by Wong Wai-leung in TVB The Legend of Lady Yang (2000).

• An actor playing Li Bai narrates the Wonders of China and Reflections of China films at the China Pavilion at Epcot

• Li Bai's poem 'Hard Roads in Shu' is sung by a Chinese singer AnAn in a Liu Bei trailer for a game Total War: THREE KINGDOMS

• He appears as a "great writer" in the game Civilization VI

生平

早年

据《新唐书》记载李白为兴圣皇帝（凉武昭王李暠）九世孙，如果按照这个说法李白与李唐诸王实际上同宗，应是唐太宗李世民的同辈族弟。亦有野史说其祖是李建成或李元吉，因为被李世民族灭而逃往西域；但此说缺乏佐证，且李建成、李元吉诸子尚在幼年即在玄武门之变后全数被害，留有亲生后嗣的可能性很小。据《旧唐书》记载，李白之父李客为任城尉。更为了学习而隐居。

李白于武则天大足元年（701年）出生，关于其出生地有多种说法，现在主要有剑南道绵州昌隆县（今四川省江油市）青莲乡（今青莲镇）和西域的碎叶（Suyab，位于今日的吉尔吉斯托克马克附近）这两种说法，其中后一种说法认为李白直到四岁时（705年）才跟随他的父亲李客迁居蜀地，入籍绵州。李白自四岁（705年）接受启蒙教育，从景云元年（710年）开始，李白开始读诸子史籍，开元三年时十四岁（715年）——喜好作赋、剑术、奇书、神仙：「十五观奇书，做赋凌相如」。在青年时期开始在中国各地游历。开元五年左右，李白曾拜撰写《长短经》的赵蕤为师，学习一年有馀，这段时期的学习对李白产生了深远的影响。开元六年，在戴天山（约在四川省昌隆县北五十里处）大明寺读书。二十五岁时只身出四川，开始了广泛漫游，南到洞庭湘江，东至吴、越，寓居在安陆（今湖北省安陆市）、应山（今湖北省广水市）。

中年

李白曾经在唐玄宗天宝元年（742年）供奉翰林。有一次皇帝因酒酣问李白说：「我朝与天后（武后）之朝何如？」白曰：「天后朝政出多门，国由奸幸，任人之道，如小儿市瓜，不择香味，惟拣肥大者；我朝任人如淘沙取金，剖石采用，皆得其精粹者。」玄宗听后大笑不止。但是由于他桀骜不驯的性格，所以仅仅不到两年他就离开了长安。据说是因为他作的《清平调》得罪了当时宠冠后宫的杨贵妃（因李白命「力士脱靴」，高力士引以为大耻，因而以言语诱使杨贵妃认为「可怜飞燕倚新妆」几句是讽刺她）而不容于宫中。天宝三年（745年）「恳求还山，帝赐金放还」，离开长安。

后来他在洛阳和另两位著名诗人杜甫、高适相识，并且成为了好朋友。

晚年

天宝十一年（752年）李白年届五十二岁，北上途中游广平郡邯郸、临洺、清漳等地。十月，抵幽州。初有立功边疆思想，在边地习骑射。后发现安禄山野心，登黄金台痛哭。不久即离幽州南下。

安史之乱爆发时，李白游华山，南下回宣城，后上庐山。756年12月，李白被三次邀请，下山赴寻阳入永王李璘幕僚。永王触怒唐肃宗被杀后，李白也获罪入狱。幸得郭子仪力保，方得免死，改为流徙夜郎（今贵州关岭县一带），在途经巫山时遇赦，此时他已经59岁。（参见李璘之乱）

李白晚年在江南一带漂泊。在他61岁时，听到太尉李光弼率领大军讨伐安史叛军，于是他北上准备追随李光弼从军杀敌，但是中途因病折回。第二年，李白投奔他的族叔、当时在当涂（今属安徽省马鞍山）当县令的李阳冰。同年11月，李白病逝于寓所，终年61岁，葬当涂龙山。唐宪宗元和十二年（817年），宣歙观察使范传正根据李白生前「志在青山」的遗愿，将其墓迁至当涂青山。

去世

《新唐书》记载，唐代宗继位后以左拾遗召李白，但李白当时已去世。

李阳冰在《草堂集序》中说李白是病死的；皮日休在诗作中记载，李白是患「腐胁疾」而死的。

《旧唐书》则记载，李白流放虽然遇赦，但因途中饮酒过度，醉死于宣城。中国民间有「太白捞月」的传说：李白在舟中赏月，饮酒大醉，想要跳下船至水里捞月而溺死；在民间的求签活动中亦有「太白捞月」一签文，乃是下下签。

作品

李白一生创作大量的诗歌，绝大多数已散佚，流传至今的只有九百多首。他的诗歌创作涉及的中国古典诗歌的题材非常广泛，而且在许多题材都有名作出现，而且因为际遇的不同，每个时期的诗风都有所不同。

诗歌

李白在所有诗歌体裁都有千古绝唱。李白zh-hans:钟;zh-hant:锺好古体诗，擅长七言歌行、五言古诗、乐府诗、五七言绝句和五言律诗。

• 古诗

沈归愚曰：「太白七古，想落天外，局自变生。大江无风，波浪自涌，白云从空，随风便灭，此殆天授，非人所及。」代表作有：《春思》、《侠客行》、《古朗月行》、《下终南山过斛斯山人宿置酒》、《春日醉起言志》、《经下邳圯桥怀张子房》、《望鹦鹉洲怀祢衡》、《赠何七判官昌浩》、《月下独酌》四首、《古风》五十九首、《拟古》十二首、《宣州谢朓楼饯别校书叔云》、《把酒问月》、《庐山谣寄卢侍御虚舟》、《梦游天姥吟留别》、《金陵酒肆留别》、《答王十二寒夜独酌有怀》、《江上吟》、《扶风豪士歌》、《梁园吟》、《鸣皋歌送岑徵君》、《南陵别儿童入京》、《金陵西楼月下吟》、《三五七言》。

• 乐府诗

胡应麟《诗薮》评：「乐府则太白擅其古今。」代表作有：《关山月》、《子夜吴歌》四首、《长干行》、《妾薄命》、《远别离》、《蜀道难》、《将进酒》、《长相思》二首、《行路难》三首、《梁父吟》、《乌夜啼》、《乌栖曲》、《襄阳歌》、《上留田》、《战城南》、《饮马长城窟行》。

• 绝句

李攀龙《唐诗选》评：｢太白五七言绝句 ，实唐三百年一人。｣胡元瑞评：「太白五言如静夜思、玉阶怨等，妙绝古今。」沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评：｢七言绝句 ，以语近情遥，含吐不露为贵，只眼前景，口头语，而有弦外音，使人神远。太白有焉。｣代表作有：

五言：《静夜思》、《玉阶怨》、《怨情》、《独坐敬亭山》、《秋浦歌》十七首、《送陆判官往琵琶峡》、《自遣》、《劳劳亭》、《哭宣城善酿纪叟》、《重忆贺监》、《夜宿山寺》。

七言：《黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵》、〈早发白帝城〉、《峨眉山月歌》、《长门怨》二首、《望庐山瀑布》其二、《春夜洛城闻笛》、《闻王昌龄左迁龙标遥有此寄》、《赠汪伦》、〈望天门山〉、〈清平调〉三首、〈横江词〉六首、〈山中问答〉、〈客中作〉、〈与史郎中饮听黄鹤楼中吹笛〉、〈陪族叔刑部侍郎晔及中书贾舍人至游洞庭〉五首、〈山中与幽人对酌〉。

• 律诗

明姚鼐评：「盛唐人，蝉也。太白则仙也，于律体中以飞动票姚之势，运旷远奇异之思，此独成一境者。」李白的七言律诗写得较少，只有十馀首，但也有流芳百世的名作，如《登金陵凤凰台》。代表作有：

五言：〈太原早秋〉、〈赠孟浩然〉、〈渡荆门送别〉、〈听蜀僧浚弹琴〉、〈送友人〉、〈夜泊牛渚怀古〉、〈塞下曲〉六首、〈宫中行乐词〉十首(今存八首，序亦亡佚)、〈谢公亭〉、〈秋登宣城谢朓北楼〉、〈送友人入蜀〉、〈访戴天道士不遇〉、〈金陵〉三首、〈过崔八丈水亭〉、〈赠钱徵君少阳〉。

七言：〈登金陵凤凰台〉、〈鹦鹉洲〉、〈送贺监归四明应制〉、〈别中都明府兄〉、〈别匡山〉。

• 词

王国维《人间词话》评太白纯以气象胜，「西风残照，汉家陵阙。」遂关千古登临之口。唐代尚未普及的词，有两首被认为是李白的作品，即被南宋人黄升称为「百代词曲之祖」的〈忆秦娥〉与〈菩萨蛮〉。也有少数人怀疑不是李白所作。

辞赋

魏颢《李翰林集序》：白入翰林，名动京师，《大鹏赋》时家藏一本。

代表作有：《大鹏赋》、《明堂赋》、《大猎赋》、《剑阁赋》、《拟恨赋》、《惜馀春赋》、《愁阳春赋》、《悲清秋赋》。

散文

• 序文

代表作有：《春夜宴从弟桃花园序》

• 表书

代表作有：《与韩荆州书》

书法

李白现存于世的唯一真迹《上阳台帖》现藏于北京故宫博物院，其纵28.5公分、横38.1公分。行草书5行，共25字。天宝三年，李白与杜甫在洛阳相见，与高适等结伴同游济源王屋山，登临王屋山华盖峰南麓的阳台宫后，写下此帖。细品此帖，笔法超放，如游龙翔凤，迅如奔雷、疾如掣电；出规入矩、飞舞自得。与其潇洒奔放、豪迈俊逸之人品诗风相为表里，堪称稀世珍宝。

现帖引首被乾隆帝用楷书题了「青莲逸翰」四字；正文右上宋徽宗则用瘦金书题签：「唐李太白上阳台」一行。后纸有宋徽宗，元代张晏、杜本、欧阳玄、王馀庆、危素、驺鲁和清乾隆皇帝题跋和观款。

风格

李白诗风浪漫，包罗万象，继承陈子昂提倡的诗歌革命，反对南齐、萧梁以来的形式主义，把南朝以来柔弱华靡的文风，一扫而空。无论在内容或形式上，唐诗都得到创造性发展。

李诗富个性，有强烈的主观抒情色彩，内容表现出蔑视庸俗，反抗和不媚权贵的叛逆精神，歌颂游侠和仙道，被誉为「诗侠」、「诗仙」，后世亦以诗仙李白称之。

李诗想像丰富，结构奇特，极度夸张，比喻生动，并运用大量神话传说。

李诗歌唱雄伟壮丽的自然，善于描写和歌咏山河，气势豪迈而奔放，不屑于细微的雕琢与对偶的安排，而用大刀阔斧、变幻莫测的手法与线条，涂写心目中的印象和感情，创造艺术的鲜明形象，雄放无比的风格。

李白擅用乐府民歌的语言，很少雕饰，自然率真。乐府精神和民歌语言的运用，达到了极其成熟和解放的阶段。

评价及地位

李白诗歌取材广阔，想像丰富，豪迈奔放，为唐诗冠冕。后世诗人如宋代的苏轼、陆游、辛弃疾、明代的高启、清代的龚自珍等均深受李白诗歌的影响。

唐

唐代诗人皮日休认为李白文字磊落，「言出天地外，思出鬼神表」，读他的作品时「神驰八极」、「心怀四溟」，一般人写不出来。李阳冰对此认为李白非圣贤之书不读，所以他的文字优美地像天上神仙讲出来的话，在近千年来只有李白可以如此。

贺知章赞叹李白是「天上谪仙人」（从天界被贬到凡间的仙人）。杜甫对李白评价甚高，称赞他的诗可以「惊风雨」、「泣鬼神」，且无敌于世、卓然不群。

贞元十年（794），元稹作《代曲江老人百韵》，诗中有「李杜诗篇敌」之句。元稹是中国文学史上第一位并尊李、杜者。不过元稹仍认为杜甫之诗较李白佳，因此被视为「李杜优劣论」之始祖。但韩愈对此不以为然，认为二人都很伟大。韩愈也曾感叹「少陵无人谪仙死」。

白居易有《李白墓》诗，凭吊李白「可怜荒陇穷泉骨，曾有惊天动地文。」但在《与元九书》则对李、杜有均有批评：「诗之豪者，世称李杜。李之作才矣、奇矣，索其风雅比兴，十无一焉。杜诗最多，可传者千馀首，尽工尽善，又过于李。然撮其《新娄》、《石壕》诸章，亦不过三四十。杜尚如此，况不迨杜者乎？」

宋朝|宋

朱熹《朱子语类》卷一百四十：「

李太白诗非无法度，乃从容于法度之中

，盖圣于诗者也。 」

曾巩〈代人祭李白文〉：「子之文章，杰力人上。地辟天开，云蒸雨降。播产万物，玮丽瑰奇。大巧自然，人力和施？又如长河，浩浩奔放。万里一泻，末势尤壮 。大骋阙辞，至于如此。意气飘然，发扬俦伟。」

苏轼〈戏徐凝瀑布诗〉：「帝遣银河一派垂，古来唯有谪仙词。」

黄庭坚：「太白歌诗，超越六代，与汉、魏乐府争衡 。 」

苏辙在《诗病五事》中认为李白的诗：「 类其为人，骏发豪放，华而不实，好事喜名，不知义理之所在也。 」

王安石编《四家诗集》时将李白殿后，说李白诗歌「不知变也」。对此，张戒《岁寒堂诗话》为李白辩护：「王介甫云：白诗多妇人，识见污下。介甫之论过矣。孔子删诗三百，说妇人者过半，岂可亦谓识见污下耶」。

金

元好问〈论诗绝句三十首〉其十五：「笔底银河落九天，何曾憔悴饭山前。」

明

宋濂〈答章秀才论诗书〉：「李太白宗风（国风）骚（离骚）及建安七子，其格极高，其变化若神龙之不可羁。」

杨慎：「太白为古今诗圣。」

王世贞《艺苑卮言》：「五七言绝，太白神矣，七言歌行圣矣。」、「太白五言冠绝古今。」

清

方植之：「太白当希其发想超旷，落笔天纵，章法承接，变化无端，不可以寻常胸臆摸测。如龙跳天门，虎卧凤阙，瑶台降阙，有非地上凡民所能梦想及者。」

影响

文学

• 美国大诗人艾兹拉·庞德用英文翻译李白诗歌。

• 英国大诗人T·S·艾略特认为艾兹拉·庞德翻译李白的诗歌「是对英语诗歌进程持久的、决定性的贡献。」

• 德裔美国诗人查理·布考斯基的诗歌。

• 美国诗人查尔斯·莱特的诗歌。

• 美国诗人詹姆斯·莱特的诗集《The Branch Will Not Break》受到李白影响。

• 美国小说家约翰·史坦贝克于小说《Cannery Row》用李白的诗歌为小说作结束。

• 美国作家娥苏拉·勒瑰恩的短篇小说集《The Birthday of the World》。。

• 美国作家安妮·迪拉德的传记《An American Childhood》。

• 民国诗人闻一多著有《李白之死》。

• 当代诗人馀光中著有《寻李白》。

绘画

• 宋代画家梁楷绘有太白行吟图。

• 清代画家冷枚绘有春夜宴桃李园图。

音乐

• 奥地利作曲家古斯塔夫·马勒根据《中国之笛》中四首李白的诗歌，谱写成大型声乐交响曲《大地之歌》。

• 流行歌手李荣浩创作流行歌曲《李白》，成为其代表作。

• 香港重金属乐队惨惨猪有首《将进酒》，其中歌词即改编自李白同名诗歌。

天文

• 1976年国际天文学联合会将水星上位于16.9°N、35.0°W的撞击坑命名为李白撞击坑。

纪念

• 2011年2月28日Google在中国的网站首页放置涂鸦纪念李白生日。

• 2015年3月21日「世界诗歌日」，联合国邮政发行一套邮票，分别选取英语、西班牙语、汉语、法语、阿拉伯语、俄语6种不同语言的代表性诗歌，于邮票画面呈现。汉语诗歌选取李白的《静夜思》。

传说

传说李白的母亲怀孕前，梦到太白金星钻进自己的肚子里面，不久后怀上了李白，因此将李白命名为白，字太白。

据宋代祝穆《方舆胜览》载，传说李白在象耳山中读书时未有成绩就想放弃，渡过一溪，见到一名老妇磨铁杵，就问她磨来做甚么，老妇回答说要磨成针。于是李白悟到学习像把铁杵磨成针那样有恒心，于是回去努力读书。

民间盛传李白醉酒时在「水里捞月」，因而溺死，由于这个传说，而尊奉他为海神水仙王之一，认为文豪李白在另一个世界也可以庇佑船员、渔民及水上贸易商旅。

小说《警世通言》、《古今奇观》、《隋唐演义》中，有李白于并州游玩时，见到一辆囚车经过，一问官吏之下得知乃是尚未出名、稍晚声威大震的郭子仪，时为校尉，隶属名将哥舒翰麾下。因出火计欲破贼，不巧因风势逆吹，反烧到自军军饷，遂而获罪待刑。李白见之，立即保释郭子仪，为唐朝留下了一个中兴名将。(这即是郭子仪于李白获罪后力保李白免死，而后得到赦免的报恩。)

家族

父母

据《旧唐书》记载，李白之父名叫李客，为任城尉。

妻

• 许氏，第一任妻子，宰相许圉师的孙女

• 宗氏，第二任妻子，宗楚客的孙女

情人

• 刘氏，同居后分手，以乘船离开

• 东鲁某氏

子女

• 长女－平阳，许氏所生，出嫁后死。

• 长子－伯禽，许氏所生，李白去世30年后（贞元八年）去世。

• 次子－天然（小名颇黎），李白在东鲁时和一女子所生，不知所终。

学术考证

冯承钧于〈唐代华化蕃胡考〉中，根据李白生于碎叶城，家族曾于条支生活等记载，认为他是胡人。陈寅恪则认为李白之父为西域胡人。胡怀琛在〈李太白的国籍问题〉中认为李白为突厥化的汉人。

郭沫若反对陈寅恪说，认为李白为汉人。

文献

诗文集及注解

李白生前并未为自己编修文集，临终前，李白将诗文稿交予族叔李阳冰，李白没后，李阳冰为李白整理编成《草堂集》，并为其作序，《草堂集》今已亡佚。后世李白诗文集皆后人重新收集所得。

中国有许多文人为李白的作品评论、注释。节录如下：

• 南宋杨齐贤注的《李翰林集》二十五卷，只注诗。

• 元代萧士贇的《分类补注李太白集》二十五卷，只注诗。

• 明代胡震亨的《李诗通》二十一卷，只注诗。

• 清代王琦的《李太白文集》三十六卷，诗文合注，是当时李白诗文集中最完备的注本，亦是现今最通行的李白诗文集版本。

• 现代詹鍈校注《李白全集校注汇释集评》

• 现代瞿蜕园、朱金城校注《李白集校注》

• 现代郁贤皓校注《李太白全集校注》

其他收有李白诗文的文集：

• 李太白文集（四库收录）

• 李太白集分类补注（四库收录）

• 李太白集注（四库收录）

• 全唐文（卷347-350）

• 全唐诗（卷161-185）

• 全唐五代词（卷1）

生平传记

中国也有许多文人为李白立传。节录如下：

• 李白自述，如《赠张相镐》诗、《为宋中丞自荐表》、《与韩荆州书》。

• 李阳冰《草堂集序》（作于李白死之宝应元年，即762年）。李阳冰是李白的族叔，李白临终前将诗文稿托付给李阳冰，其文可信度极高。

• 范传正《翰林学士李公新墓碑》。范传正是李白墓所在地的地方长官，曾与李白的两个孙女交谈，并见到李白之子的手迹，其文可信度也相当高。

• 魏颢《李翰林集序》（作于上元二年即761年）。

• 刘全白《唐故翰林学士李君墓碣记》。

新、旧唐书中的李白本传不是第一手资料，基本为根据以上诸文撰写，且有错误，在李白研究中的权威性较低。其他各种研究所依据的史料也不外乎以上几种。

注释