1、 Li Bai(Chinese:李白李白,L Bi or L B;lived 701 762),also known in the West by various other transliterations,especially Li Po,was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period.He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in Chinas Tang period,which is often called Chinas golden age of poet
2、ry.Around a thousand existing poems are attributed to him.1 Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems.In the area of Chinese cultural influence,Li Bais poetry has been much esteemed from his lifetime through the present day.His influence also extends to
3、the West through many translations,adaptations,and much inspiration.Early yearsThe young Li Bai,before twenty years of age,had fought and killed,apparently for reasons of chivalry,several men.In 720,he was interviewed by Governor Su Ting,who considered him a genius.Though he expressed the wish to be
4、come an official,he never took the civil service examinationAt ChanganLi Bai wrote several poems about the Emperors beautiful and beloved Yang Guifei,the favorite royal consort.At the persuasion of Yang Guifei and Gao Lishi,Ming Huang reluctantly,but politely,and with large gifts of gold and silver,
5、sent Li Bai away from the royal court.Final years and deathIt was reported,from uncertain sources,that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River,something later believed by Herbert Giles.WorksCriticism of Li Bais works has foc
6、used on his 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 violations of formal poetic rules and his ability to combine all of these with a s
7、eeming effortless virtuosity in order to produce inimitable poetry.WineMany of the Classical Chinese poets were associated with drinking wine,or more precisely,alcoholic beverages,such as choujiu,baijiu,or even grape wine.In fact,Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars during his time in Ch
8、angan,called the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup,as mentioned in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu.Fantastic imageryAn important characteristic of Li Bais poetry is the fantasy and note of childlike wonder and playfulness that pervade so much of it.Can you guess the Chinese name of this poem?A Tranquil Ni
9、ght Abed,I see a silver light,I wonder if its frost aground.Looking up,I find the moon bright;Bowing,in homesickness Im drowned.In the Quiet Night So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed-Could there have been a frost already?Lifting my head to look,I found that it was moonlight.Sinking back again,I
10、thought suddenly of home.other versions Night Thoughts I wake,and moonbeams play around my bed,Glittering like hoar-frost to my wandering eyes;Up towards the glorious moon I raise my head,Then lay me down-and thoughts of home arise.On a Quiet Night I saw the moonlight before my couch,And wondered if
11、 it were not the frost on the ground.I raised my head and looked out on the mountain noon,I bowed my head and though of my far-off home.Waking From Drunkenness on a Spring Day 春日醉起言志 处世若大梦,Life in the World is but a big dream;胡为劳其生.I will not spoil it by any labour or care.所以终日醉,So saying,I was drun
12、k all the day,颓然卧前楹.Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door.觉来盼庭前,When I woke up,I blinked at the garden-lawn;一鸟花间鸣.A lonely bird was singing amid the flowers.借问此何时,I asked myself,had the day been wet or fine?春风语流莺.The Spring wind was telling the mango-bird.感之欲叹息,Moved by its song I soon beg
13、an to sigh,对酒还自倾.And as wine was there I filled my own cup.浩歌待明月,Wildly singing I waited for the moon to rise;曲尽已忘情.When my song was over,all my senses had gone.InfluenceIn the EastLi Bais poetry was immensely influential in his own time,as well as for subsequent generations in China.His influence h
14、as also been demonstrated in the immediate geographical area of Chinese cultural influence,being known as Ri Haku in Japan.In the WestThe ideas underlying Li Bais poetry had a profound impact in shaping American Imagist and Modernist poetry through the 20th Century.Also,Gustav Mahler integrated four
15、 of Li Bais works in his symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde.Ezra PoundLi Bai is influential in the West partly due to Ezra Pounds versions of some of his poems in the collection Cathay.34 Li Bais interactions with nature,friendship,his love of wine and his acute observations of life inform his best poems.
