The first English-language biography of China's most celebrated poet (李白, romanized as Li Po, Li Bo, or Li Bai, depending on which system you use, though at the time his name was probably pronounced something like Li Bak), popular Sinologist Arthur Waley undertook an enormous task with verve and lucidity. Waley is a skilled writer, and weaves a coherent biographical narrative out of evidence scattered poems, letters, inscriptions, and early biographical notes. Furthermore, he uses Li Bo's life as a entry point into a survey of the major events in 8th-century (CE) China: the constant changing of power at the courts, the chaos leading to and culminating in the An Lushan Rebellion, the circles of Daoist (Taoist) alchemy, the vagaries of a wandering, jobless poet's life. For all this, I applaud Waley's efforts.

Yet the account given is in fact quit unsympathetic to the poet. The book was originally written for a series titled "Ethical and Religious Classics, East and West," the stated goal of which was "to place the chief ethical and religious masterpieces of the world, both Christian and non-Christian, within easy reach of the intelligent reader who is not necessarily an expert." Set in this context, Li Bo is obviously a profligate, recognized by his contemporaries for his poetic genius, wildly flashing eyes, and perpetual drunkenness. Indeed, Waley ends his book by calling Li Bo "boastful, callous, dissipated, irresponsible and untruthful" - adjectives which could describe most artistic geniuses, from Aristophanes to Tao Qian to Shakespeare to Byron to Picasso to Welles. For this, I withhold my applause of Waley's efforts.

I have this as 1950 (vice 1954). A great introduction to the poetry and life of Li Po.

A pleasure to reread this classic talk by Waley—with a generous collection of translations. This Kindle version is based on gutenberg.com text, well proof-read.

Important and interesting.

It might seem odd to review a scholarly book written in 1950 about ancient Chinese poetry (that most people will probably never read), but this little tome does have a few things going for it (I heard about it through another book I read recently – Five T’ang Poets, by David Young). It’s a pretty compact volume, for one, so it won’t take you long to get through. It also sheds a lot of light on Li Po’s life and background and how they influenced his poetry, and – let’s face it – he was a fascinating figure, as the only one among the famous poets of the time not to have a post in the central government (a highly prestigious line of work back then), a hardcore wine drinker (aka alcoholic?), and a kind of straight-up wanderer for the latter part of his life. And of course the book contains samples of his work (translated by the author) that are enjoyable to read in themselves.

But what I like most about The Poetry and Career of Li Po, and why I’d recommend it to anyone interested in this sort of thing, is that it sort of captures the milieu of Tang Dynasty China, through the examination of historical events, the letters of Li Po and his contemporaries, and background info about the period. Basically, the world the legendary poet inhabited – with its imperial examinations, Taoist holy men and alchemists, emperors and courtesans, rebellions, prominence of poetry in public life, etc. – is so radically different than ours (though in many strange ways it’s very similar as well), that reading about it makes for a refreshing and eye-opening experience. It’s like going back in a time machine (to Asia) in your imagination. And yet the people of this era (the 700s AD), despite how long ago it was, seem so literate and sophisticated and human, in ways that are perhaps lacking in our current digital-wonderland time.

For the love of Bacchus, would you put the cup down? Li, I don't understand how you managed to climb mountains and write some occasionally poignant verses with all that wine in your system, if indeed you drank just half of this collection.

Drinking alone by Moonlight
...
When I am drunk, I lose Heaven and Earth;
⁠Motionless, I cleave to my lonely bed.
⁠At last I forget that I exist at all,
⁠And at that moment my joy is great indeed.

And then you wake up and the world is the same.

Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day
"Life in the World is but a big dream:
I will not spoil it by any labour or care."
So saying, I was drunk all the day,
Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door...

Charming.

Not many gems but I can quote:

The White River at Nan-yang
Wading at dawn the White River's source,
Severed a while from the common ways of men,
To islands tinged with the colours of Paradise,
Where the river sky drowns in limpid space.
While my eyes were watching the clouds that travel to the sea.
My heart was idle as the fish that swim in the stream.
With long singing I put the sun to rest:
Riding the moon, came back to my fields and home.

I liked the fact that Waley added the notes at the end of each poem and not on the last page as they usually do - it's not that handy, folks.
As for Li Po/Li Bai, perhaps this wasn't the best selection because it was like reading an award winning wine list and I don’t even drink alcohol, but I'm not too eager to try another one for now.


Feb 18, 18
* Later on my blog.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43274/...

Li Po, also Romanized "Li Bai," is one of China's most famous poets, the prolific Tang Dynasty poet wrote extensively at the nexus of intoxication and the beauty of the natural world. His well-loved and evocative poem, "Drinking Alone by Moonlight," is a prime example [and is included in this selection.]

The selection consists of a small number of translations by [20th-century Orientalist] Arthur Waley. It's only 20-some of the 1,000-ish extant poems of Li Bai, but it does offer variety in form and subject matter. It doesn't include all of Li Bai's most anthologized poems, which I consider a plus -- i.e. Waley didn't just assemble a greatest hits album.

The Waley translations aren't as sparse as many that one will read. That offers the advantage of being clearer in meaning while losing some of the feel of the original. That said, I enjoyed this group of translations and didn't feel they were too verbose - for the most part. It's a selection well worth reading for those who enjoy poetry.