Li Bai
Li Bai (李白; 701-762), also romanized as Li Po, was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty and a friend of Du Fu. His poetry is known for vivid imagery and a conversational voice, encompassing personal experience and verse written for particular occasions.[1]
Life and writing
Li Bai grew up in Sichuan and left home in 725 to travel through the Yangtze valley. In 742, Emperor Xuanzong appointed him to the Hanlin Academy, but his time at court ended in expulsion. He later resumed a travelling life.[1]
His work reached readers beyond China through translation and influenced twentieth-century poets including Ezra Pound and James Wright.[1]
Sitting alone at Jingting Mountain
In "Sitting alone at Jingting Mountain" (獨坐敬亭山), birds and a solitary cloud depart, leaving the speaker and mountain facing one another. The poem reads:[2]
衆鳥高飛盡，孤雲獨去閒。
相看兩不厭，只有敬亭山。
The flocks of birds have flown high and vanished;
a lone cloud drifts off at ease.
We gaze at each other, never tiring:
only I and Jingting Mountain.