After working for nearly two years at the imperial court, the incompatibility of Li's personality with court life began to take its toll, as Li was never one to be bound or driven by secular rules.

Detesting the political machinations, and having his advice ignored by Tang Ming Huang, Li doubted if it was in his best interest to remain at the court. During this period, the treacherous Prime Minister Li Linfu 李林甫 held tremendous political power, running the country by himself and pushing aside all other capable individuals and potential rivals. All the while, Tang Ming Huang spent most of his time and energy indulging in a lascivious lifestyle with Consort Yang Guefei. More importantly, it was rumored that the eunuch Gao Lishi had always felt that being forced to pull off Li Bai's boots was exceedingly humiliating. So he started to badmouth Li Bai to Yang Guifei. He asserted that it was inappropriate for Li Bai to have compared her beauty to that of consort Zhao Yanfei in his second poem "Qing Ping Ballad #2". Zhao was originally of very low birth and status. She was a consort of Emperor Han Chengdi during the Han Dynasty, and was famous for her beauty and slender waist; in contrast, Yang's great-great-grandfather had been a key official during the previous Sui dynasty, and she had a plump figure, which was the fashion of the Tang Dynasty. Both were consorts doted on by the emperors of their times.

Gao Lishi had been given command of the imperial military forces and had defeated several adversaries in the power struggle for Tang Ming Huang to win the kingdom back for Tang Ming Huang's father. Having established meritorious achievements, he was conferred with the rank of Biaoqi Great General 骠骑大将军 (4th level in military service systems) by Tang Ming Huang, thus holding substantial imperial court military power in addition to political power. He was the favorite eunuch of Tang Ming Huang and even the powerful Prime Minister Li Linfu sometimes publicly flattered him. With such a cast of powerful officials potentially arrayed against him, Li Bai saw the writing on the wall.

In traditional Chinese culture, the most glorious purpose in life was to pursue meritorious honor and fame 功名 (pinyin: gōng míng) in the imperial bureaucratic system. To be able to gain societal recognition in making one's mark on the people and the country was considered of the highest honor. Yet the quality and nature of being a great imperial statesman are quite different from that of being a successful poet, especially a romantic poet. Li finally had an epiphany and abandoned the traditionally defined path to success. Like a fabulous bird, he required an expansive space to fly and soar and not be bound in a golden cage. Hence, his poems began to reflect his desire to leave his bureaucratic mission.

Recognizing that Li Bai was unwilling to continue serving in the court, Tang Ming Huang released him with a handsome severance in the spring of 744. After a series of farewell parties, Li Bai wrote a moving poem "The Difficult Journey" "难行之旅" expressing his life's ambitions, difficulties he had encountered, and his outlook for the future. And then he said goodbye to the royal court - the center of world power and influence that he had once obsessed about.

Li Bai was characteristically always an optimist; no setbacks ever seemed to frustrate him, and he could always find a way to see the bright side of life. Leaving Chang'an and the setting sun behind him in a relaxed and light mood on his way home, he traveled to and toured Luoyang 洛阳, which was once the capital during Empress Wu Zetian's reign. In fact, Louyang, about 200 mi/322 km east of Chang'an, had been the capital for more than six dynasties in China's history before Li Bai's time. Thus, by the Tang dynasty, it was already a famous historical cultural city and peony cultivation center. The poet Du Fu happened to be traveling in the area at that time, too, and so two of the greatest poets in Chinese history met for the first time. Li was 11 years Du's senior and was already an illustrious star poet. Du, on the other hand, had not yet garnered any fame for himself, and indeed, would not do so in his lifetime. Du, being younger than Li, exhibited the forthrightness, sincerity, and zeal in composing poems that Li had had in his earlier days. All these characteristics drew the two together and helped form a solid friendship right way.

After touring Luoyang and before parting, they scheduled to meet up again in Kaifeng 开封, further east of Luoyang.

view Luoyang via Google,   Baidu,   or   wikipedia .
view Luoyang cultural relic via Baidu.
View a Luoyang cultural relic site - Longmen Grottoes 洛阳龙门石窟 via Baidu   or   wikipedia .

In the autumn, Gao Shi 高适, a famous border and frontier fortress poet and also Li Bai's friend five years his junior, joined the two of them to tour the Liangsong area 梁宋, which includes present-day Kaifeng 开封 and Shangqiu 商丘 in Henan 河南 Province.

Kaifeng is a beautiful lake city with the Bian River 汴河 running through it. It was one of the busiest trading centers of the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties. Fifty some years after the end of the Tang, it became the capital of the Northern Song 北宋 Dynasty. The famous painting "Along the (Bian) River During the Qingming Festival" 清明上河圖 elegantly captures one prosperous section of the Bian River in Kaifeng during the Northern Song Dynasty.

Since societal and structural changes generally evolved more slowly in former times than in the modern era, the painting is probably also a fair depiction of bustling daily life in Kaifeng during the High Tang period. One can imagine Li Bai, Du Fu and Gao Shi in the crowd happily crossing the arch bridge, to find a restaurant at which to enjoy gourmet food and fine wine, chattering into the night.

* * *

View daily activities in ancient Kaifeng through the animated version of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" via YouTube:
River Q. M. - 6 minutes ,
River Q. M. - 12 minutes (with English narration)   or
12 minutes (the same as above at different URL),
River Q. M. (1/2) - 7 minutes ,
River Q. M. (2/2) - 7 minutes.


The original painting, about 206 inches by 9.7 inches (528 cm by 24.8 cm) on silk, was orchestrated by Zhang Zeduan 张择端 (Wikipedia), a famous court painter.

After touring Kaifeng, the three poets traveled to Shangqiu 商丘, a rich historical site. Two sets of "gold and jade weaved clothes" "金鏤玉衣", dating from around 200 BC to 220 AD, were unearthed in the 20th century from one of the 18 mausoleums here. Of course, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Gao Shi did not have the luck to see or even know that there were such treasures hidden just right beneath their feet.

View the mausoleum at Mangdang Mountain in Shangqiu via Google   or   view some unearthed items via Baidu.

View the gold and jade weaved clothes from the Liang King Mausoleums in Shangqiu via Google   or   Baidu. (There have been more sets of such gold and jade weaved clothing discovered in mausoleums at different locations in China, with at least two of them from Shangqiu.)

After a delightful trip together, they set off on their separate ways on a clear and refreshing autumn day. Du Fu went north, Gao Shi kept traveling south, and Li Bai continued on his trip home.

According to Du Fu's poems and writings, during the early High Tang period, the cost of living was low and travel was safe, inexpensive, and pleasant.

In the Tang Dynasty, the central government had a very comprehensive postal service system -the Youyi 邮驿 - to deliver mail and goods, as well as provide lodging for Tang officials on their business trips; of course, the most important tasks were to deliver emergency military messages and government documents. At its peak, the system had over 1,600 postal stations, more than 20,000 employees, and covered the entire country, even extending into neighboring countries and regions such as Korea, Japan, Central Asia, India and Southeast Asia. In addition to the Youyi, there was a guifang 柜坊 organization run by private enterprise, which could issue IOUs similar to modern bank money orders. With these two efficient organizations, Li Bai, who had just received a handsome severance from Tang Ming Huang, could travel light and safe on his way home.

Later in the same year at age 43, Li Bai became romantically involved with a young woman, Zong Shi 宗氏 ("Shi" 氏 is a character placed after a married woman's surname in ancient times. Her giving name was lost to history), who was proficient at literature, was physically attractive, and was also interested in the study of Taoism. Furthermore, she was a long time admirer of Li Bai and came from a prominent family; she was the granddaughter of former Prime Minister Zong Chuke 宗楚客, who had served in that position on three separate occasions for two Tang emperors.
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poem #04

Traditional Chinese

望廬山瀑布         李白

日照香爐生紫煙，
遙看瀑布掛前川。
飛流直下三千尺，
疑是銀河落九天。

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Simplified Chinese with pinyin

望 庐 山 瀑 布               李 白
wàng lú shān pù bù     lǐ bái

日 照 香 炉 生 紫 烟，
rì zhào xiāng lú shēng zǐ yān ，

遥 看 瀑 布 挂 前 川。
yáo kàn pù bù guà qián chuān 。

飞 流 直 下 三 千 尺，
fēi liú zhí xià sān qiān chǐ ，

疑 是 银 河 落 九 天。
yí shì yín hé luò jiǔ tiān 。

Recitation 1     Recitation 2

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Lookout over the Mount Lu Waterfall         Li Bai

Sunlight illuminates the incense peak,
Sparking a purple haze,
I examine a distant waterfall
Hanging before the riverways;
Its flowing waters
Flying straight down three thousand feet,
I wonder -
Has the Milky Way been tumbling from heavenly space?

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poem #06

Traditional Chinese

靜夜思                 李白

床前明月光，疑是地上霜。
舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉。

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Simplified Chinese with pinyin

靜 夜 思            李白
Jìng yè sī          lǐ bái

床 前 明 月 光， 疑 是 地 上 霜。
chuáng qián míng yuè guāng, yí shì dì shàng shuāng。

举 头 望 明 月， 低 头 思 故 乡。
jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè, dī tóu sī gù xiāng 。

Recitation 1     Recitation 2

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Thoughts on a Still Night         Li Bai

Before the well lays the bright moonlight,
As if frost blanketing the earth.
My head tilts upwards at the glowing moon;
My head lowers with thoughts of home.

* * *

While on ​a​ trip​ far away from home​​, Li Bai staring out on a moon-lit night, standing by a well in a courtyard, overcame with a melancholic sense of loneliness ​​ and nostalgia. Such an event ​inspired him to pen​ his most famous poem - "Thoughts on a Still Night". This is one of the most popular poems of all time that almost all​ Chinese can ​recite​ by heart.

Admiring and contemplating a bright, full moon, is a Chinese tradition, especially for a traveler away from home. Chinese believe that when people ​​look at a bright, full moon, ​while ​alone ​on a tranquil night, their thoughts will naturally ​wander towards their beloved ones​. Several​ famous​ classic​al​ verses​ reflecting this popular conception ​include: ​

海上生明月，天涯共此時。- ​​When the bright moon ​breaks the​ ​surface of the ​sea,
​All ​under heaven ​are one ​at this moment.

明月千里寄相思 - ​​The bright moon carries ​lovesickness ​​​a ​thousand​ miles (to reach a beloved one).

月是故鄉明 - ​The moon is brighter​ over​ home (implies thinking about and missing beloved ones ​back in one's​ hometown.)

​The moon represents a direct, shared spiritual connection, as it would be assumed that no matter what the physical distance was separating them, beloved ​ones would or could all be ​looking ​at the exact same moon at the exact same time, sharing the same thoughts of far away beloved ones in their hearts.

Li Bai's "Thoughts on a Still Night" has stirred feelings of homesickness in countless Chinese caught traveling far away from home on silent, moonlit nights, since the Tang Dynasty.​

Why is the character "床" (sleeping bed, the structure of ...) translated as "well" in the poem?

While many school children (and translators!) take the Chinese character​ 床 ​to mean "bed" in its modern sense, it is more likely to refer to "the structures around a well" in its ancient sense. Ancient Chinese windows were often framed with decorative carvings and overhead eave-like structures - specifically to provide shading from sunlight (and prevent break-ins, as they could be shut and locked), but consequently also equally adept at preventing moonlight from entering a room. It would thus seem unlikely that light ​could have​ enter​ed​ ​a bed​ room ​expansively enough to be mistaken as frost by the bedside. ​ It is more likely that Li Bai was referring to the platform structure or fence skirting a well, which was an alternate ancient meaning of 床​.

Li Bai also wrote another famous poem "Chang Gan Xing" 长干行 employing the character 床 in the sense of a wood structure surrounding a well -

Just starting to wear my hair banged,
I plucked flowers playing by the door.
He came on bamboo hobby-horse to the scene;
Circling the "well" and pinching plums green.
Neighbors we were in Changgan alley,
Two little ones so trusting and carefree.

妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。
郎骑竹马来，绕   "床"   弄青梅。
同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。

There is no doubt that the "bed" "床" here never meant a bed for sleeping.

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View the following images:

1. Chinese calligraphy   靜夜思书法:   view thru Google   or   Yahoo.

2. View architectural window style in Tang Dynasty thru Google   or   Baidu.

3. View architectural window style in ancient China thru Google   or   Baidu.

4. View a well with a surrounding platform "bed" thru Google   or   Yahoo.

5. Search results from the Kangxi Dictionary 康熙字典 (Wikipedia) about "bed" "床":

"床" means both:
(1) a bed for sleeping or,
(2) a structure around a well.





The character for "bed" 床 can also be written as 牀.






"又井榦曰牀" - "Again, the wooden structure around a well is called a bed".

"後園鑿井銀作牀" - "To dig a well in the back garden and fence it with stakes or other structures."

poem #07

Traditional Chinese

月下独酌               李白

花間一壺酒，独酌無相親；
舉杯邀明月，對影成三人。
月既不解飲，影徒隨我身；
暫伴月將影，行樂須及春。
我歌月徘徊，我舞影零亂；
醒時同交歡，醉后各分散。
永結無情遊，相期邈雲漢。

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Simplified Chinese with pinyin

月 下 独 酌               李 白
yuè xià dú zhuó           lǐ bái

花 间 一 壶 酒， 独 酌 无 相 亲；
huā jiān yī hú jiǔ， dú zhuó wú xiāng qīn,

举 杯 邀 明 月， 对 影 成 三 人。
jǔ bēi yāo míng yuè，duì yǐng chéng sān rén.

月 既 不 解 饮， 影 徒 随 我 身；
yuè jì bù jiě yǐn，yǐng tú suí wǒ shēn,

暂 伴 月 将 影， 行 乐 须 及 春。
zàn bàn yuè jiāng yǐng，xíng lè xū jí chūn

我 歌 月 徘 徊， 我 舞 影 零 乱；
wǒ gē yuè pái huái, wǒ wǔ yǐng líng luàn

醒 时 同 交 欢， 醉 后 各 分 散。
xǐng shí tóng jiāo huān, zuì hòu gè fēn sàn

永 结 无 情 游， 相 期 邈 云 汉。
yǒng jié wú qíng yóu, xiāng qī miǎo yún hàn

Recitation 1     Recitation 2

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Drinking Alone by Moonlight         Li Bai

A jug of wine amidst the flowers,
I drink alone with no soul around. 
I raise my wine cup to the moon and invite her down;
Now we are three with my shadow.
The moon, she does not drink,
And my shadow follows my every move;
But for the moment,
The moon is my partner and I hang with my shadow.
To enjoy life is to take advantage of youth. 
I sing, the moon hovers all around;
I dance, the shadow follows in a messy stumble.
Lucid, we enjoy each other knowingly;
In drunken sleep, we go our separate ways.
Bound to forever travel carefree,
We shall meet again in cosmic paradise.

* * *

Li Bai was a wine lover. Wine seemed to be catalyst that could ignite his poetic prowess with such speed that he could reportedly pen a poem in a matter of seconds after a few drinks. Thus, he was accorded the name of Jiouxian 酒仙, literally, "wine immortal."

As a wine connoisseur he wrote numerous poems on the subject. "Drinking Alone by Moonlight" is one of the most famous among all "wine poems" written by East Asian poets through the ages. Induced by just a jug of wine, Li Bai dances into a fanciful world; and by the magic of his pen brush, he brings the reader along with him into his fantastical reverie.

​Definitions and ​Interpretation of Characters, Terms, and Names:

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In December 755, the An Lushan Rebellion 安祿山之乱 broke out in Youzhou. Not long afterwards, the whole empire was thrown into turmoil. (​There is an entire chapter dealing with An Lushan and the antecedents and consequences of the rebellion.)

Seven months later, An Lushan overcame a key military fortress - the Tong Pass, and Emperor Tang Ming Huang hurriedly fled towards Chengdu, Sichuan Province 成都, 四川省, while the Crown Prince Li Heng 李亨 took refuge in Lingwu, Ningxia Province 灵武, 宁夏省 and soon declared himself the new Tang emperor. After hearing news of the declaration, Prince Li Ling 李璘, the 16th son of Tang Ming Huang, rose up in Jiang Ling 江陵, present-day Jingzhou city, Hubei Province 荆州市, 湖北省 against his brother, in the name of protecting his emperor father's sovereignty.

Appreciating Li Bai's fame and his literary talent, Li Ling continually sent messengers to Mt. Lu in order to cajole Li Bai into accepting a position as his key propaganda advisor and secretary.

Li Bai's poems, such as "The Song of Youth" "少年行", "The Song of Knights" "侠客行", as well as many others, reflected his life attitude, which had long been of the chivalrous sort. Thus, after Li Ling's repeated and earnest invites, Li Bai, in spite of his wife's attempts as dissuasion, agreed to join with Li Ling in 756. Proceeding with a knight-errant spirit, he hoped to be able to contribute and do something for the good of the country,

The next year, the new Emperor Li Heng defeated Li Ling, capturing and executing him. Li Bai was likewise jailed and awaited his fate. Upon hearing the shocking news, Du Fu wrote several poems to Li Bai to express his deep concerns and worries. During Du Fu's lifetime, he wrote many poems and letters to Li Bai, as the latter's talent, charisma, and the attitude towards life deeply attracted Du Fu.

During this critical period, Li Bai's wife, Zong Shi, sought help from all corners to mitigate a finding of treason, which would have almost certainly resulted in a death sentence.

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About Li Bai's Life Journey in Details

(1). Li Bai's Birth and Childhood

Li Bai (701 - 762; lived mostly in the High Tang period and only a few years into the beginning of Mid Tang period), the most famous romantic poet in Chinese history, penned numerous masterpieces that are still memorized and chanted by Chinese of all ages today. He went by many names; his most popular and well-known title being Shi Xian 诗仙 - "the Poet Immortal" or "the Poet Transcendent”. His name has also been romanticized as Li Po or Li Bo. Thirty-four of Li Bai's poems are included in the popular anthology "Three Hundred Tang Poems," second only to Du Fu's thirty-nine poems.

Li Bai's ancestors were from Longxi, Chengji 陇西, 成纪, in present-day northern Qinan county, Gansu Province 秦安县北, 甘肃省. They were banished to Tiaozhi 条枝 in the Western Regions 西域, today's Central Asia, during the Sui Dynasty by the Sui ruler.

As for Li Bai's birth place, according to Guo Moruo 郭沫若, a historian and ancient writing scholar, Li Bai's ancestors moved from Tiaozhi to a prosperous silk trading city Suiye 碎叶, also in Central Asia, within the Ansi Protectorate 安西都护府, and Li Bai was born over there. Suiye was also known as Suyab, once a flourishing trading city on the Silk Road and now an archaeological site in modern day Ak-Beshim, Kyrgyzstan.

View present-day Ak-Beshim (Suiye) in Kyrgyzstan thru Google   or   Yahoo.   View details regarding Ak-Beshim: Wikipedia.  

Li Bai's father, Li Ke 李客, was probably a very successful merchant, since the family was installed in one of the thriving commercial centers of the empire. In 705, Li's father moved the family back to China and settled down in Jiangyou, Sichuan Province 江油, 四川省. ( View Jiangyou thru Google   or   Baidu.) (Jiangyou is bordered on the northeast side by Mianyang City 绵阳市 - today's "Silicon Valley" in China.)

Speculated birthplace of Li Bai- Suiye (the blue drop shape) and his second "hometown" (the green drop shape):

(Source: Google map - click here to expand, then click the dots to view context)

The young Li Bai read extensively, devouring not just Confucian classics, but also various tracts on astrological and metaphysical subjects, including the Chinese classic text - Tao Te Jing/Dao De Jing 道德经 (Wikipedia). He was also skilled in swordsmanship.

His place of birth, his tall girth, and his angular facial features, suggested that he was possibly of mixed race. It was said that he was conversant in at least one foreign language due to his background and upbringing.

In 725 at age 24, Li Bai left his second hometown, Jianyou, to explore the world. Being young, ambitious, and without financial constraint, he embarked on a knight-errant-like journey. Heading east down the Yangtze River, he explored all the most popular cities and interesting spots along the Yangtze River including the Three Gorges, the largest lake Dongting Lake 洞庭湖, the famous Mount Lu 庐山, all the way to Jingling 金陵 (present-day Nanjing 南京, in Jiangsu 江苏 Province). While passing through the Jingmen Gorge, he left behind a beautiful poem "Bid Farewell at Jingmen" 荆门送别. Along the way he met and befriended various poets and social elites, including Meng Haoran, who Li Bai had long admired. Li Bai wrote several poems in admiration and praise of Meng, including the very popular one - Seeing Meng Haoran off at Yellow Crane Tower   黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵.

While touring Hubei, Li Bai was introduced by friends to the family of the former Prime Minister Xu Yushi 许圉师. Li, at age 26, was young, handsome, and well-built. He excelled at both swordsmanship and literature, and had about him a chivalrous and gentlemanly demeanor. A budding poet, he was well-received by Xu's family and eventually married the former Prime Minister's granddaughter, Xu Ziyan 许紫烟. The couple settled down at Peach-flower Rock, near Li's in-laws in present-day Anlu, Hubei Province 安陸, 湖北省. Although Li Bai would travel from time to time or take short mountain sabbaticals (to enhance study and reflection) for the purposes of obtaining a position in the imperial court, the couple led a content married life with little financial burden, with Xu Ziyian bearing a daughter, Li Pingyang 李平阳, and a son, Li Boqin 李伯禽.

While away from home, Li Bai wrote many letters and poems to his wife to express his loneliness and longings, some of which were very witty and humorous.

The blessed marriage lasted for 12 years. In 740, Xu Ziyian passed away. Since several of Li's close relatives lived in Renchen 任城, located on the south side of present-day Jiling city, Shandong Province 济宁市, 山東省, Li Bai moved his family there. This was not far from Lu county, where Confucius' hometown is located.

After settling down at Renchen, Li Bai managed to spend some time living in seclusion with five other hermits on Mt. Culai 徂徕山 ( view Mt. Culai thru Google   or   Baidu). They settled by a scenic brook in a bamboo forest, and hence the six of them earned a collective name - "The Six Hermits of Leisure of the Bamboo Brook" 竹溪六逸. Needless to say, Li Bai spiritually enjoyed his time there, taking in the surrounding mountain scenery, drinking wine, enjoying tea, playing music, practicing his fencing, and especially chanting poems together with his like-minded companions. While living on Culai Mountain, Li Bai continued to maintain contact with the local intelligentsia and gentry through letters and visits in order to get his name heard. This was the fashion during Tang Dynasty for ambitious scholars to obtain a central government appointment in the imperial court. Li Bai lived on Culai Mountain intermittently on three separate occasions.

Mt. Culai, the sister mountain of Mt. Tai 泰山, lies about 12.5 mi/20 km to the southeast of Mount Tai. In Chinese ​feudal ​tradition, emperors would come to this area atop Mt. Tai and hold Heaven-and-Earth worship ceremonies 祭天祭地, also called fēngchán 封禅, ​ during prosperous periods​ to pay gratitude ​to​ Heaven and Earth. Another main purpose was to ​justify and reify​​ ​their​ ​"​superpower​"​ and authority ​over their people. After the ceremony, ​the emperors would also often stop at nearby Qufu 曲阜 in Lu county, the birthplace of Confucius, to hold a ceremony honoring him 祭孔大典. Early in the Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Wudi 汉武帝 had paid three visits to the area, performing the aforementioned ceremonies. Several Tang emperors did so as well. Emperor Tang Ming Huang performed the ceremonies for the first and only time in 725, the year Li Bai was just stepping out of Sichuan to explore the world. While holding ceremony in Lu county, Tang Ming Huang composed a poem called "Passing through Zou Lu ​and offering a sacrifice to ​​Confucius with a ​s​ig​h​" "经邹鲁​​祭孔子而叹之"​. This is the only poem ​by the emperor, himself, that is included in the anthology "Three Hundred Tang Poems".

Living on nearby Culai Mountain and cultivating a reputation as a learned, self-sufficient, capable man, Li Bai provided himself the chance of being recognized and introduced to the Tang emperor during these ceremonies and would have had the opportunity to be possibly "fast track" into the imperial service.

Before his wife passed away, Li had lived in seclusion on several other mountains as well. One of these was Zhongnan Mountain 終南山 ( view the mountain, hermits and monks thru Google   or   Baidu,) about 10 miles south of the Tang capital of Chang'an. He lived there around age 29 for less than a year. During the early Tang, the famous scholar hermit Lu Cangyong 卢藏用 lived on this same mountain and was called in by Empress Wu Zetian 武则天 to work for the central government. Lu began at the position of a remonstrative official - Zuoshiyi 左拾遗 ( duties of remonstrative officials in the Tang Dynasty and rank schedule of the imperial civil service system), working his way up quickly to the Shangshu-Youcheng 尚书右丞 level, i.e., almost to the position of prime minister. This is the origin of the Chinese idiom "Zhongnan Fast Track" "终南捷径". Li Bai, however, did not meet with such fortune on Zhongnan Mountain.

In 742, Hè Zhizhang 賀知章, about 83 years old at the time and a leading light of literature and high-level imperial official, read Li's poems, marveled at his literary talent, and praised Li Bai as the "Transcendent Dismissed from Heaven" or "Immortal Exiled from Heaven" "謫仙人". From this point forward the acclamation "Li Bai, the 'Transcendent Dismissed from Heaven' " began to spread throughout the empire. And the two cemented the bond of a lifelong friendship.

(2). Li Bai's Ambitious Dream Starts to Bud - An Audience with the Tang Emperor

In the late summer of the same year, Emperor Tang Ming Huang, who had caught wind of Li Bai's reputation, summoned him to the the capital Chang'an for an audience. From Li Bai's home to Chang'an was nearly a distance of 600 mi/965 km, as the crow flies. Li did not arrive until the autumn.

Emperor Tang Ming Huang, an expert on military strategy who also excelled at literature, greeted Li Bai at the Grand Palace in person. During the banquet, Li's personality, wit, and political views fascinated Tang Ming Huang. The emperor even personally seasoned the soup for Li Bai.

The next year, Li Bai was assigned a Hanlin 翰林 position at the Hanlin Academy 翰林学院 within the imperial court and appointed the state Grand Secretary. As a result of the emperor's favor, Li was never required to take the imperial examination to attain the title of jinshi, a usual prerequisite for selection and assignment to a Hanlin position. Indeed, Li Bai never attempted to take the imperial examination at all. It was rumored that this was because his ancestors had been banished to Central Asia for some kind of crime. The norm at the time was that offspring of criminals were automatically disqualified from taking the exam, but his ancestors were banished in the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618) and the Sui was overthrown by the Tang in 618, some 80 years before Li Bai was born!

Being from a merchant family also would have disqualified him from taking the imperial examination, though. This policy was adopted most likely to prevent collusion between government employees and businessmen. But in reality, this policy was never consistently implemented. Highly wealthy merchants could always circumvent the rules and secure important government positions. One such example was Wu Shiyue 武士彠, a successful lumber businessman with good connections to the Tang royal family, who secured several important government positions early during the dynasty and indirectly helped his daughter - Wu Zetian 武则天 “usurp” the throne. (There is an entire chapter devoted to Wu Zetian -- another Tang poetry promoter and grandmother of Tang Ming Huang -- in "Tang Poems" volume 2.)

This regulation was eventually repealed by the following Song (Sung) Dynasty 宋朝, and almost all classes of males (and only males) were thereafter permitted to take the exam. In any event, during Li Bai's lifetime he often broke from convention and followed his own path.

In the beginning, Li led a fairly pleasant life at court. The famous verse "Guifei grinding ink, Lishi pulling off boots" "贵妃磨墨, 力士脱靴" describes this period. It depicts Yang Guifei 楊貴妃, Tang Ming Huang's most adored consort, grinding Chinese black inksticks into ink for Li to pen down a poem, while Gao Lishi 高力士, Tang Ming Huang's favorite eunuch 宦官, (and the most politically powerful figure in the palace), assists in pulling off Li's snow stained boots under Tang Ming Huang's request. All to facilitate Li’s comfort and creative genius. It was also suggested that whenever Li Bai published a new poem, there would be a run on paper in Chang'an, sending the price soaring, with everyone rushing out to obtain copies of his new work.

Li's main duty was to handle secretarial works and record tasks for Tang Ming Huang, which included accompanying Tang Ming Huang to important ceremonies and festivities and documenting them. Tang Ming Huang probably intended that through Li's exquisite writing, the records of his reign would be of particular interest to future historians and scholars.

A secondary duty assigned to Li was composing poetry for the emperor. This resulted in the poem, Qingping Song (1)   清平调词之一 which is a flattering and fawning piece about Yang Guifei and reflects the desires of Tang Ming Huang.

After working for nearly two years at the imperial court, the incompatibility of Li's personality with court life began to take its toll, as Li was never one to be bound or driven by secular rules. Detesting the political machinations, Li doubted if it was in his best interest to remain at the court.

During this period, the treacherous Prime Minister Li Linfu 李林甫 held tremendous political power, running the country by himself and pushing aside all other capable individuals and potential rivals. All the while, Tang Ming Huang spent most of his time and energy indulging in a lascivious lifestyle with Consort Yang Guefei. More importantly, it was rumored that the eunuch Gao Lishi had always felt that being forced to pull off Li Bai's boots was exceedingly humiliating. So he started to badmouth Li Bai to Yang Guifei. He asserted that it was inappropriate for Li Bai to have compared her beauty to that of consort Zhao Yanfei in his second poem "Qing Ping Ballad #2". Zhao was originally of very low birth and status. She was a consort of Emperor Han Chengdi during the Han Dynasty, and was famous for her beauty and slender waist; in contrast, Yang's great-great-grandfather had been a key official during the previous Sui dynasty, and she had a plump figure, which was the fashion of the Tang Dynasty. Both were consorts doted on by the emperors of their times.

Gao Lishi had been given command of the imperial military forces and had defeated several adversaries in the power struggle for Tang Ming Huang to win the kingdom back for Tang Ming Huang's father. Having established meritorious achievements, he was conferred with the rank of Biaoqi Great General 骠骑大将军 (4th level in military service systems) by Tang Ming Huang, thus holding substantial imperial court military power in addition to political power. He was the favorite eunuch of Tang Ming Huang and even the powerful Prime Minister Li Linfu sometimes publicly flattered him. With such a cast of powerful officials potentially arrayed against him, Li Bai saw the writing on the wall.

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2. The Historical Path that Led Tang to Glory

The sequence of the major influential dynasties in Chinese history prior to the Tang:

Xia 夏 -- around 2070 – 1600 BC; the legendary first dynasty of China. ("X" is pronounced as the English "see" in pinyin.)

Shang 商 -- from 1600 to 1046 BC; the beginning of written Chinese history

East Zhou 東周 -- from 770 to 256 BC; era of Confucius 孔子, Laozi 老子, Sun Tzu 孙子, etc.; mostly a time of warring states and factions, but also the flowering of Chinese philosophy.

Qin 秦 -- from 221 to 206 BC; from which the western name "China" arose. ("Q" is pronounced as the English "Ch" in pinyin.)

Han 汉 -- from 202 BC to 220 AD; by which the Chinese are known as the "Han" people.

Sui 隋 -- from 581 to 618; the dynasty that set the stage for the Tang.

Tang 唐 - from 618 to 907; by which the Chinese are also known as the "Tang" people.

A brief history on the rise of the Tang dynasty:

During the Qin 秦 Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 not only standardized Chinese written language, but also standardized the monetary, measurement, and "highway" systems (setting the road width for chariots, the drainage and pavement codes, etc.). As for state defense, he connected together various wall barriers into the Great Wall to protect the northern border.

During the following Han 汉 Dynasty, the wall was extended and re-enforced, and the Hexi Corridor 河西走廊 was developed, helping to form a "Silk Road" to facilitate trading with the western world. Likewise, the Panyu area 番禺區 (ancient sections of present-day Guangzhou 广州 city) on the southern coast also developed into an international trading entrepot for silk and other merchandise commerce.

Following the Han Dynasty, was the short lived Sui 隋 Dynasty, which nevertheless, linked together various canals into the Grand Canal 大运河 with a total length of nearly 1,110 mi/1,786 km (mi: miles; km: kilometers), connecting five major rivers from south to north. Food and merchandise could therefore be transported much faster from the prosperous southeast coastal regions to the north and west. The canal further benefitted the agriculture and irrigation systems. The Sui Dynasty also solidified and extended various sections of the Great Wall.

In the very early Tang Dynasty the practice of "guifang" 柜坊, also known as "jiugui" 僦柜, played a similar role to that of today's modern banking system, by issuing paper "money orders" or "payable notes", which greatly helped to facilitate commerce and develop the domestic Tang economy. For large trades, merchants no longer needed to carry around heavy and inconvenient *coins or precious metals that could be lost or stolen.

The guifang 柜坊 eventually developed into feiqian 飞钱, literally "flying cash," the earliest form of paper money ever issued in the world.   "Paper bills were first used by the Chinese, who started carrying folding money during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) — mostly in the form of privately issued bills of credit or exchange notes -- and used it for more than 500 years before the practice began to catch on in Europe in the 17th century. It took yet another century or two for paper money to spread to the rest of the world" (source: Time - the First Paper Money - http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1914560_1914558_1914593,00.html   or   Wikipedia).

Thus, by the time of the rise of the Tang, China was blessed with a unified internal infrastructure defended by an "impregnable" Great Wall. These included an extensive water and road system built by the previous Qin and Sui dynasties, a securely guarded Silk Road along the Hexi Corridor developed by the Han Dynasty, and a convenient trade and exchange transaction system refined by the Tang itself. All these allowed the Tang to dance onto the world stage, reaching its peak during Tang Ming Huang's reign.

* Note: coins -
The coins used in daily life and trade in ancient China were round in shape with a square shaped hole in the middle for stringing together (so that they could be carried around easily) but it was clumsy and inconvenient for large trades. View coins of different dynasties via Google   or   Baidu.

Map A - The major sections of the Great Wall (light brown lines) for state defense, and the Silk Road along the Hexi Corridor (a winding route strung out along four major cities) for international trade during the Tang Dynasty:
The map's outline is retrieved from Joowwww [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons in 2016. (Tang territory varied during different periods.)     View the extent of the Tang as overlaid upon China's modern day provinces.
For details about the Great Wall: wikipedia

There were, in fact, two major "Silk Roads" -- Chang'an (the yellow spot in the middle of China) was the hub of the inland Silk Road routes (in red), while Canton, on the southern coast, was the hub of sea routes (in blue) plying mainly silk products overseas. (The two yellow spots to the west of Chang'an were the Jade Gate and the Yang Gate - two important defense and customs bases.)

(source: By NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Silk_route.jpg)
For details about the Silk Road: wikipedia.

The Grand Canal sped up domestic north-south transportation.

(source: Yug (talk) East Asia topographic map.png: Ksiom (East_Asia_topographic_map.png) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons).
For details about the Grand Canal: wikipedia.

* * *

The Tang Dynasty can be divided into four periods based on the strength of the empire. The spirit and mood of Tang poems are more or less in sync with these time periods.

The four periods (which overlap to a certain degree):

(1). The Early Tang from the beginning of the dynasty in 618 until around 712 -- about 100 years of thriving development.

(2). The High Tang -- the most prosperous period -- from around 712 until the An Lushan Rebellion 安禄山之乱 in 756. This corresponds with Emperor Tang Ming Huang's 唐明皇 40 plus year reign. And it was also the peak period of Tang poetry.

(3). The Mid Tang from around 756 to 827 -- about 70 years of slow decline.

(4). The Late Tang from around 827 until the fall of the dynasty in 906, about 80 years of further decadence and accelerated decline.


Continue reading or return to "​​​I encourage you to​ first​ read Chapter 3 ​-​The Historical Path that Led Tang to Glor​y".


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(1). The Imperial Examination System

While the first stirrings of the imperial examination system 科举制度 (pinyin: Kē jǔ zhì dù) began in the Han dynasty around 165 BC, its coalescing into a regularized regime can be traced back to Emperor Sui Wendi 隋文帝 of the Sui 隋 Dynasty in 587. The system was consolidated and officially established, however, only in 605 by Emperor Sui Yangdi  隋炀帝 (Yang Guang 杨广) and improved upon during the Tang Dynasty.

The system was set up for the purpose of ensuring that only the most capable individuals were selected for government and administrative positions by means of competitive categorized examinations (采用分科取士的办法，所以叫做科举). It encompassed more than 20 subject categories, including medicine, law, math, history, calligraphy,...etc. Among all the different degree-titles that issued from the examinations, the jinshi degree-title was the hardest to obtain. However, securing this would lead to a bright future -- a great many Tang prime ministers were jinshi title holders.

At the beginning it was a two-tiered system, consisting of a county and then a court exam (in following dynasties, it morphed into three or even four-tiers, with each tier progressively more difficult than the last), each of which was held once a year. There were also occasional ad hoc imperial examinations held by the emperor for special purposes (in addition, there was a special imperial examination for selecting high military officials called wuju 武举 which was not as heavily relied upon as the civil service examination system). To sit for the jinshi degree-title exam, the candidate was required to write policy essays on current event issues, individually interpret quotations from the Confucian classics (among others) compose poetry, and engage in other technical writings. It required literary talent and the ability to craft insightful, policy-oriented analyses, as well as possess acumen in interpreting passages from *the Four Books, *the Five Classics, and other ancient tomes. The success rate for jinshi examinees was only between 1 and 2 percent compared to 10 to 20 percent for mingjin degree-title applicants (limited to mastering *the Four Books, *the Five Classics and other classics) (source: 《Tongdian》 Chapter 15 [in Chinese only] 《通典》 卷15 《選舉三》： “其進士大抵千人，得第者百一二；明經倍之，得第者十一").   A total of 6,504 jinshi titles were conferred during the course of the Tang Dynasty, an average of only around 23 per year. (the Confucian classics -- the Four Books and the Five classics were included across all exams, weighted differently depending on the exam)

After passing the last tier of court exams, a candidate would then be assigned to a local civil service position to begin his career. The exception to this was the jinshi degree-title holder. His career was expected to usually begin as a civil servant in the imperial court.

A jinshi degree-title during the Tang Dynasty was the equivalent to a joint literature and political science Ph.D. degree of today. However, obtaining a jinshi degree-title alone did not guarantee appointment to a position in the civil service at the imperial court. After obtaining a jinshi title, candidates usually had to still pass one last "guan" or gate exam 关试 (once called Li Shi 吏试 or fu shi 复试) to obtain an civil service post at the imperial court. However, there was alway the "fast track" -- to be socially connected and thereby obtaining the recommendations of an influential person in at the court.

The system helped to weaken the aristocracy’s monopolistic grip on governing institutions, while at the same time consolidated the emperor's power. It also stimulated the common people's desire for education and brought about a measure of social stability by projecting an image of social mobility and equality based on an individual's tested capabilities, regardless of background (to an extent). Meanwhile, the old Nine-Rank Method 九品中正法 of filling government positions did not completely die out during the Tang (and all dynasties to follow), but it was no longer the predominant method to gain an assignment to an administrative post. The Nine-Rank Method simply gave existing government authorities the task of selecting capable civil service candidates, then categorizing them into nine ranks depending upon on their abilities. In practice, however, only the rich and powerful would be selected and assigned the highest positions.

The examination system, unsurprisingly, produced a class of administrators and scholar-gentries 士大夫 marked by great conformity, since they had all studied and been indoctrinated by the same material -- the Confucian classics. Therefore, they tended to all abide by the same social value concepts and beliefs and followed and reinforced then existing social conventions, morals, and virtues based on Confucianism. They acted as a centripetal force indirectly sustaining and consolidating Chinese culture and had a great impact on helping to stabilize society.

Since Tang Ming Huang relished poetry and literature, starting from his reign, the jinshi examination began to emphasize more and more the ability to compose poetry. The intelligentsia were encouraged to spend time and effort on honing their poetry writing skills. This was a major reason for the explosion onto the scene during the Tang of so many great poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, and others. Thus, Tang Ming Huang has been credited by Chinese historians as the catalyst for this Golden Age of Chinese poetry.

The spread of education and promotion of poetry among the populace was aided by another factor other than just the imperial examination system, though. Paper-making skills were greatly improved during the Tang Dynasty, which helped encourage the cheap copying and production of texts, scriptures and literary works. Education was, thus, no longer attainable by only the very powerful and rich. Advancements in woodblock printing techniques allowed for color prints and illustrations during this period, which also made texts more attractive and accessible. (for details: Wikipedia - printing books in Tang or Wikipedia - printing)  

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In order to assist applicants who were poor or resided in the distant reaches of the empire, the local and central governments would provide them with free transportation to and from the exam, as well as free lodging, or other subsidies. This assistance policy endured through all dynasties.

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Due to its inadequacy in the face of the challenges of the modern world, the system, which had been in force for more than 1,300 years, was completely abolished in 1905 in the waning days of the Qing 清 Dynasty.

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(2). The Hanlin Academy 翰林院 and Hanlin Scholar 翰林学士

The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded during the Tang Dynasty.

Membership in the academy was conferred upon an elite group of scholars who had already obtained a jinshi degree-title and had made meritorious contributions to the state or to the field of literature. One of the main duties for the members was to draft edicts for the Tang emperor. Other duties included recording and maintaining the official history records of the country, acting as examiner of the imperial examinations, and composing odes to be performed at official ceremonies. A scholar working in this position was called a "Hanlin Scholar" or simply "Hanlin" -- a prestigious honorific title that he carried with him even after leaving the academy. It was an honorary lifetime membership.

Passing the imperial jinshi examination, being appointed a Hanlin scholar, or working one's way up to the position of prime minister was almost every intellectual's life goal in China before the imperial examination system was abolished in 1905.

In the Tang Dynasty, many famous prime ministers and high ranking officials were Hanlin appointees, all having passed the prerequisite imperial examinations to be accepted into the academy -- all except one. Li Bai stood out as the only Hanlin scholar who never had to take the imperial examination, but was nevertheless appointed to the academy based solely upon the favoritism that Emperor Tang Ming Huang showed towards him.

8. About the Authors

Marie Sun and Alex Sun (mother and son)

Marie Sun/Marie Luo Sun/孙玛琍/孙罗玛琍:

Marie was born in mainland China and moved to Taiwan with her family in 1949. She grew up in Taiwan and graduated from National Taiwan University in 1965, majoring in Economics.

She immigrated to the U.S. in 1968 and worked in the computer programming field for various companies, including IBM, retiring in 1992. in addition to computers, she has always had a passion for Chinese poetry, calligraphy and painting.

Alex Sun/Alexander K. Sun/孙国強:

Alex Sun, was born in the U.S.. At age 12, he was invited by his dear grandparents, Mr. Teiqing Luo and Ms. Wu Ma, in Taipei, Taiwan to study Chinese and experience Chinese culture for a year.

He went on to attend Georgetown University in the U.S., graduating from the Law School in 1992 and becoming a lawyer. While at Georgetown University, he also spent a year studying political science at Beijing University in Beijing, China from 1990 to 1991, and revisited and traveled around the country in later years.

Alex's natural interest in learning different languages, cultures and exploring his roots proved an immeasurable help in producing this book.

9. Share

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