Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 06-14-05 22:46
“‚’©Žl—›”’
Li Bai the Tang poet 唐朝詩人李白
Li Bai was born in 701AD during the reign of the first and only powerful
female ruler in China, Empress Wu Ze Tian (武則天) whose real name was Wu
Ying (武嬰). The birth place of Li Bai was Suiye (碎葉) in An Xi county
(安西縣) of Gansu province (甘肅省). The present day Suiye is in the Lake
of Balkhash in Kazahstan. Since Li Bai was born there, there were people
mistaken him of Turkish descent or at least some Turkish blood (胡人).
Li Bai's original ancestral home was in Qinglian of Sichuan province (青
蓮四川省). Li Bai's ancestor (great-grandfather, I think) was banished by
the authority of the Sui Dynasty (隋朝 589AD to 618AD) to Suiye which was
then under the jurisdiction of the Sui Dynasty Authority. When Tang Dynasty
(唐朝 618AD to 907AD) was established by Li Yuan (李淵) or Emperor Gao Zu
(高祖) he granted amnesty to all those who were ostracized from the homelands.
The outcasts were free to return home at any time as they wished.
Li Bai's father was called Li Ke (李客), a rich business man. When Li Bai's
mother was in full term of pregnancy with him, one night, in her dream,
she saw the star of Venus (太白星) shining brightly. A few weeks later Li
Bai was born. Li Bai's parents named him after the star of Venus.So he was
called Li Taibai (李太白) and his given name was just Bai (白). He called
himself Li Bai. Years later, Li Bai had a little sister and his father named
her Yue Yuan (月圓 round moon or full moon). When Li Bai was 5-year-old
Li Ke took his family and returned to their ancestral home in Qinglian village
(青蓮鄉) in the county of Zhangming (彰明縣) of Jinzhou Prefecture (錦州
) in present day Sichuan province (四川省).
Li Bai grew up and educated in his hometown by an educational system of
the Dynasties of Han and Wei (漢朝與魏朝教育制): 五歲學六甲﹐十歲觀百家)
When he was 15 years old he heard of a hermit, a master of martial art,
by the name of Jing Zhigao (景之杲), who lived in the mountain of Douchui
(竇圌山), quite far from his home. He took a sword and went up the mountain
to seek for master Jing Zhigao. There were snakes, tigers and many harmful
animals in the mountain. Eventually he found master Jing Zhigao who accepted
him as a pupil. Li Bai learned martial art from master Jing for about a
year before he returned home.
Li Bai continued to study all sorts of literature books and he was already
very good in writing poetry (寫詩作賦). Li Bai did not sit for any governmental
examinations. He considered it was too troublesome to sit for any examination.
In 725AD, during the reign of Emperor Xuan Zong (玄宗), Li Longji (李隆基
), the famous Tang Minghuang (唐明皇), Li Bai left home to seek for a living
and began his wandering life.
After touring places for three years (remember his father was a very rich
businessman) he arrived in Anlu in Hubei province (安陸 湖北省). He was
27 when he married the granddaughter of Xu Yushi (許圉師), the former Prime
Minister of Li Shi (李治), Emperor Gao Zong (高宗 650AD to 683AD). He named
his eldest son, Ming Yuenu (明月奴). That was why many of his poems are
about the moon which he loved. His other son was called Po Li (頗黎), the
name of a type of crystal stone (水晶石). Although he still travelled a
lot after marriage yet most of the time he stayed in Anlu as a family man
When Li Bai was about 35 years old he left home and travelled to Taiyuan
(太原 the present day city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province 山西省). He arrived
in Tai Yuan during the summer and put up with his friend Yuan Canjun (元
參軍). Li Bai toured all the interesting places around Taiyuan. In Autumn,
Li Bai left Taiyuan for Qilu (齊魯 the present day Shandong province 山東
省). In Qilu he spent most of his time in these two places of Rencheng (任
城 the present day city of Jining 濟寧) and Shaqiu (沙邱 the present day
city of Yixian 掖縣). He bought a house in Shaqiu where he lived there for
a long time.
Here in Shaqiu he befriended Kong Chaofu (孔巢父), Han Zhun (韓準), Pei
Zheng (裴政), Zhang Shuming (張叔明) and Tao Mian (陶沔). The six of them
lived in Zu Laishan (俎徠山) in the south of Taishan (泰山). People nicknamed
them the "Zhu Xi Liu Yi 竹溪六逸 or the six escapees in the bamboo stream".
He left Qilu and went touring to the present day provinces of Jiangsu (江
蘇省), Anhui (安徽省) and Zhejiang (浙江省). After all these years he began
to have a clear picture about politics. Emperor Xuan Zong admired his literary
talent and in 742AD called him to come to Changan to work for him. Li Bai
had never set foot on the capital before. He was very happy to be called
by the Emperor to Changan. Li Bai though he could show his literary talent
while he was in Changan. He was quickly disappointed when he was offered
to work as an ordinary employee to an official in the Han Lin Academy (翰
林院or the Imperial Academy). He worked as a Gong Feng (供奉) a kind of
butler. Other than working as an attendant (侍從), Li Bai befriended many
people, like He Zhizhang (賀知章), Cui Suizhi (崔祟之), Chao Heng (晁衡)
and many others. At their leisure they drank they talked of everything under
the sun (談天說地).
His stay for three years in Changan was more than enough for him. Li Bai
resigned and went back home to his family in Rencheng in Shandong province
(任城在山東省). For the rest of the years he went touring to places like;
Guangling (廣陵the present day county of Jiangdu (江都縣), Jinling (金陵
the present day city of Nanjing 南京市) in Jiangsu province (江蘇省), Xuancheng
(宣城) in Anhui province (安徽省) and many other places, until he was 55-year-
old when he met Prince Yong Lin (永王璘) in mountain Lushan (廬山).
Prince Yong Lin formed an army trying to overthrow his elder brother Li
Heng (李亨) or Emperor Su Zong (肅宗 756AD to 762AD) and Li Bai was asked
to become one of his advisors. The rebellious army of Prince Yong Lin was
crushed the following year. Li Bai was arrested and imprisoned in Xunyang
(潯陽 the present day city of Jiujiang 九江市 in Jinagxi 江西省). One of
his best friends, Du Fu (杜甫), wrote poems on how he missed Li Bai as an
intimate friend; poems like Meng Li Bai (夢李白) and,Tian Mo Huai Li Bai
(天末懷李白) or I dreamed of Li Bai. Du Fu was angry over the banishment
of Li Bai and he wrote:
冠蓋滿京華,---Guan gai4 man3 jing hua2,
斯人獨僬悴.---Si ren2 du2 qiao2 cui4.
孰云網恢恢?--Shu2 yun2 wang3 hui hui?
將老申反累!---Jiang4 lao3 shen fan3 lei2
There are officials everywhere in the capital,
Why you are the only one who is down and out.
Who says the heavenly principles are broad?
And let you suffer at old age!
(Du Fu met Li Bai in 744AD in Luoyang 洛陽. Together they went touring for
two years. They departed from each other in Lujun 魯郡 in Shandong province)
Although he was bailed out from the prison by his friends, Li Bai was ostracized
to Yelang (夜郎 present day Tong Zi 桐梓 in Guizhou province (貴州省). At
the age of 60 he was rehabilitated and he returned home in Rencheng.
In 762AD when he was 61, Li Bai went for a drinking party with a few friends
in a boat. While cruising along a river near the present day city of Xuancheng
in Anhui province (宣城安徽省), Li Bai was drunk. It was full moon that
night and the reflection of the moon on the surface of the river was beautiful.
Li Bai always loved the moon. He had written so many poems about the moon.
He loved the moon so much that he wanted to grab it. Off his nut (foolishly),
Li Bai jumped into the river trying to scoop up the moon. With a loud splash
that was the end of the famous poet. Li Bai was drowned. His best friend
Li Yangbing (李陽冰) buried him in a rocky place called Caishiji (采石磯
) near the river in which he was drowned. Since then, there were many scholars
came to his grave to pay him respect. Many of them scribbled poems on his
grave. His stony grave was covered with poems.
During the reign of Zhu Yijun (朱翊鈞), Emperor Shen Zong (神宗), of Ming
Dynasty (明朝 1368AD to 1644AD), there was a poet by the name of Mei Zhihuan
(梅之渙) who went to Li Bai's grave to pay respect to the great Tang poet.
Mei Zhihuan did not like any of the poems on Li Bai's grave. So he composed
one poem next to all those poems which were written hundreds of years ago.
He wrote:
采石江邊一堆土,---Caishi jiang bian yi dui tu3,
李白之名高千古;---Li Bai zhi ming2 gao qian gu3;
來來往往一首詩,---Lai2 lai2 wang3 wang3 yi shou3 shi,
魯班門前弄大斧.---Lu Bang men2 qian2 nong4 da4 fu3.
On Caishi's[1] riverbank stands a mound
Great Li Bai's fame forever to astound
But poems from callow poets upon his grave are scored
Like showing off one's proficiency with the axe before Lu Ban[2]
the master carpenter
[1]
Caishi 采石 means 采石磯 the place where Li Bai was buried.
[2]
Lu Ban 魯班
was the famous architect during the Autumn and Spring Period
(春秋時代 722BC to 481BC) of Zhou Dynasty (周朝1134BC to 256BC).
CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
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