This is a Chinese name; the family name is 李 (Li).

Names
Chinese:	李白
Pinyin:	Lǐ Bó or Lǐ Bái
Wade-Giles:	Li Po or Li Pai
Zì 字:	Tàibái 太白
Hào 號:	Qīnglián Jūshì 青蓮居士
aka:	Shīxiān, 詩仙 Poet Immortal
Li Bai Chanting a Poem by Liang Kai (13th century)

Li Bai or Li Po (李白)(701-762) was a Chinese poet who lived during the Tang Dynasty. Lithium ion polymer batteries, or more commonly lithium polymer batteries (Abbreviated Li-Poly or LiPo) are rechargeable batteries which have technologically evolved from lithium ion batteries. ... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... A Chinese surname, family name (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or clan name (氏; pinyin: shì), is one of the hundreds or thousands of family names that have been historically used by Han Chinese and Sinicized Chinese ethnic groups in mainland China, Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese communities. ... 李 Lǐ Li, Lee or Ly is a common transliteration of several Chinese family names, including that of 李 (pinyin Lǐ), the most common Chinese family name, and other less common surnames such as 黎 (Lí); 理 and 里 (both pronounced as Lǐ); 郦, (é…ˆ), æ —, 厉, (厲), and 利 (all pronounced as Lì). Calligraphically, Li (李) is the same character as... Personal names in Chinese culture follow a number of conventions different from those of personal names in Western cultures. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as scheme of the Chinese phonetic alphabet... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name, is an extra name that could be used in place of the given name. ... A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name, is an extra name that could be used in place of the given name. ... photo of painting of Li Po Chanting a Poem, ink on paper, by Liang Kai (13th century); This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... photo of painting of Li Po Chanting a Poem, ink on paper, by Liang Kai (13th century); This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Liáng Kǎi (梁楷) (fl. ... Li Bai, also known as Li Po, Chinese poet Wang Wei Categories: | ... Li Bai also known as Li Po, Chinese poet Categories: | ... Poets who wrote or write much of their poetry in the Chinese language. ... The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (June 18, 618–June 4, 907), lasting about three centuries, followed the Sui Dynasty and preceded the Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

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. Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as scheme of the Chinese phonetic alphabet... Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of very old forms of Chinese , making it very different from any modern spoken form of Chinese. ... Language planning refers to deliberate efforts to influence the behaviour of others with respect to the acquisition, structure, or functional allocation of language. ... Standardisation or standardization (sometimes abbreviated s13n), in the context related to technologies and industries, is the process of establishing a technical standard among competing entities in a market, where this will bring benefits without hurting competition. ...

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. Du Fu or Tu Fu (712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. ... The term Western World or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Look up translate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ...

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. Taoism (sometimes written as and actually pronounced as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for: Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi and alternately spelled Dào Dé JÄ«ng) and the Zhuangzi; a family of organized Chinese religious... Spirits redirects here. ... Du Fu or Tu Fu (712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: )   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. ...

Biography

Li Bai's birthplace is uncertain, but one candidate is Suiye in Central Asia (near modern day Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan). Some have suggested that he might be of Turkish origin. However his family had originally dwelled in what's now southeastern Gansu ^[1], and later moved 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. Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Dont confuse that city with the small town Tokmak on a peninsula of the Aral Sea. ... Gansu (Simplified Chinese: 甘肃; Traditional Chinese: 甘肅; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Chengdus location within China   (Chinese: ; pinyin: Chéngdu; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Confucian temple in Jiading district, Shanghai. ... Taoism (sometimes written as and actually pronounced as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for: Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi and alternately spelled Dào Dé JÄ«ng) and the Zhuangzi; a family of organized Chinese religious... The imperial examinations (科舉, kējǔ) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service, which had promoted upward mobility among the people for centuries. ... Emperor Tang Xuanzong (唐玄宗) (685 - 762), born Li Longji (李隆基), was the sixth emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. ... Events Chinese poet Li Po is presented before the emperor and given a position in the Imperial court. ...

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. The Hanlin Academy (翰林院) was founded in China in the 8th century. ... Du Fu or Tu Fu (712–770) was a prominent Chinese poet during the Tang Dynasty. ... Events February - Hildeprand succeeds Liutprand as king of the Lombards. ... The Anshi Rebellion (安史之亂 pinyin: an1 shi3 zhi1 luan4) occurred in China, during the Tang Dynasty, from 756 to 763. ...

Li Bai died in Dangtu in modern day Anhui. Traditionally he was said to have drowned attempting to embrace 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. Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: An-hui; Postal System Pinyin: Ngan-hui, Anhwei or An-hwei) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ... Look up elixir in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Alcohol poisoning is a serious — sometimes deadly — result of drinking excessive amounts of alcohol (ethanol). ...

Simon Elegant novelized Li Po's life in his 1997 work, A Floating Life.

Poetry

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. Yue fu (Chinese 乐府) are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. ... The Fantastic is a literary genre of writing or art which intrudes fantasy elements into a story (or picture) that is basically representational or real-feeling. ... Taoism (sometimes written as and actually pronounced as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for: Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi and alternately spelled Dào Dé JÄ«ng) and the Zhuangzi; a family of organized Chinese religious...

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. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was a prolific and highly influential composer of Classical music. ... A quatrain is a poem or a stanza within a poem that consists of four lines. ... Ezra Pound in 1913. ...

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: ASIMO is an anthropomorphic robot created in 2000 by Honda Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena. ...

There are 4 parts to this poem, this is the first segment.

花間一壺酒。 Amongst the flowers is a pot of wine;

獨酌無相親。 I pour alone but with no friend at hand;

舉杯邀明月。 So I lift the cup to invite the shining moon;

對影成三人。 Along with my shadow, a fellowship of three.

月既不解飲。 The moon understands not the art of drinking;

影徒隨我身。 The shadow gingerly follows my movements;

暫伴月將影。 Still I make the moon and the shadow my company;

行樂須及春。 To enjoy the springtime before too late.

我歌月徘徊。 The moon lingers while I am singing;

我舞影零亂。 The shadow scatters while I am dancing;

醒時同交歡。 We share the cheers of delight when sober;

醉後各分散。 We separate our ways after getting drunk;

永結無情遊。 Forever will we keep this unfettered friendship;

相期邈雲漢。 Till we meet again far in the Milky Way.

Influence

Li 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. There is another striking musical setting of his verse by the American composer Harry Partch, whose Seventeen Lyrics by Li Po for intoning voice and Adapted Viola (an instrument of Partch's own invention) are based on the texts in The Works of Li Po, the Chinese Poet translated by Shigeyoshi Obata. Ezra Pound in 1913. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) is particularly interesting among Gustav Mahlers symphonic works. ... Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974) was an American composer. ...

A crater on the planet Mercury has been named after him. Note: This article contains special characters. ...

Footnotes

Gansu (Simplified Chinese: 甘肃; Traditional Chinese: 甘肅; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

References

• A History of World Societies Fourth Edition by McKay Hill Buckler. Copyright Houghton Mifflin 1999. Pg. 328-329.
• Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems Selected and Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Arthur Cooper (translator), 1973
• The Selected Poems of Li Po by David Hinton (translator), 1996.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Li Bai

• Open Directory Project category
• Selected Poetry by Li Po at Inspired Poetry
• Li Po Poems, illustrated with Nature Photos
• Li Bai's poems included in 300 Selected Tang poems, translated by Witter Bynner.
• Tang Dynasty Poems on the Moon
• Brief description of The Li Bai Memorial, located at his birthplace, Zhongba Town of northern Jiangyou County in Sichuan Province. It is a museum in memory of Li Bai.