Ten Greatest Poets – Li Po, China’s Greatest Poet—Not

LI PO, CHINA’S GREATEST POET—NOT

Truth is, China has two greatest poets—Li Po, also known as Li Bai, and Tu Fu. If we had to choose between the two, it’s a toss-up.

Li Po edges out Tu Fu for trivial reasons—Li Po is slightly more entertaining. He writes about his tipsy spells and bouts of drunkenness with playful humor. Drawing us into almost mystical contemplation, he surprises us by his notably keen, simple, direct, and unaffected powers of observation.

Tu Fu is neither a tippler nor a mystic. He comes across as a little square. Chinese historian William Hung describes him as “a filial son, an affectionate father, a generous brother, a faithful husband, a loyal friend, a dutiful official, and a patriotic subject.” Deemed morally exemplary, Tu Fu is honored by the Chinese as “poet sage.” He is also acknowledged for his technical mastery of classical Chinese forms.

Li Po is most engaging when he celebrates tippling. “Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon” is a good example. The poem whimsically revels in a moonlit escapade with wine.

DRINKING ALONE BENEATH THE MOON by Li Po

Original language Chinese

Translated by David Hinton

Among the blossoms, a single jar of wine.

No one else here, I ladle it out myself.

Raising my cup, I toast the bright moon,

and facing my shadow makes friends three,

though moon has never understood wine,

and shadow only trails along behind me.

Kindred a moment with moon and shadow,

I’ve found a joy that must infuse spring:

I sing, and moon rocks back and forth;

I dance, and shadow tumbles into pieces.

Sober, we’re together and happy. Drunk,

we scatter away into our own directions:

intimates forever, we’ll wander carefree

and meet again in Star River distances.

Translation published in Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology (2008), page 179.

The poem closes with a dreamy appeal to the spirit.

Much of Li Po’s poetry demonstrates a sixth sense for keenly selected details, culminating in a contemplative close. This next poem, for example, is about a solitary trip through the mountains.

IN THE STONE GATE MOUNTAINS, GONE LOOKING FOR YUAN TAN-CH’IU

Original language Chinese

Translated by David Hinton

No plans to go looking for such solitude,

I set out on a whim, never mind distance.

Hiking up through boundless cliffs hard,

broad daylight’s fading away in no time,

and before I pass three or four mountains,

the path’s taken a million twists and turns.

In silence, deep silence, a gibbon shrieks.

I walk on and on, watching clouds build,

then a perfect moon clears towering pines,

opening autumn clarity into an empty valley.

There’s still old snow in ravines up here,

and cold streams begin among broken rock.

Countless peaks deep in heaven, I climb on,

gazing into them, but they’re inexhaustible.

Then Tan-ch’iu calls out in these distances,

and spotting me, breaks into a sudden smile.

Watchful, I cross into this valley, seeing

in it the ease you’ve mastered in stillness,

and soon we’re lingering out ageless night,

leaving talk of return for clear dawn light.

Translation published in The Selected Poems of Li Po (1998), page 63.

Li Po’s most famous poem is “Thoughts in the Silent Night.” It is regularly taught in the Chinese literature curriculums of China and Taiwan.

THOUGHTS IN THE SILENT NIGHT by Li Po

Original language Chinese

Translated by Yang Xianyi and Dai Naidie

Beside my bed a pool of light—

Is it hoarfrost on the ground?

I lift my eyes and see the moon,

I bend my head and think of home.

See: http://www.chinawhisper.com/top-10-most-influential-chinese-poems-in-history/

Underlying the evocative images and tender feelings intertwining in this poem is an appeal to Confucian filial piety. The original context of the poem is a courtier, official, or otherwise vassal of the Emperor sighing for home because he has been called to a distant place in fulfillment of his obligations to his sovereign.

Rumi, Sufi Mystic:

https://poetryofgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2018/06/ten-greatest-poets-rumi.html 

Li Po