See Also:

Li Bai (sh)




or Li Bo or Li Pai or Li Po or Taibai

born 701, Jiangyou, Sichuan province, China
died 762, Dangtu, Anhui province

Chinese poet.

A student of Daoism, he spent long periods wandering and served as an unofficial court poet. His lyrics are celebrated for their exquisite imagery, rich language, allusions, and cadence. A romantic, he was a famous wine drinker and wrote of the joys of drinking, as well as about friendship, solitude, nature, and the passage of time. Popular legend says that he drowned when, sitting drunk in a boat, he tried to seize the moon's reflection in the water. He rivals Du Fu for the title of China's greatest poet.