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The works of Li Po, the Chinese poet

Li, Po (701-762)

LI PO, THE CHINESE POET

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I.

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I.

II.

III.

IV.

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1. ON THE SHIP OF SPICE-WOOD

2. A SUMMER DAY

4. A FAREWELL SONG OF WHITE CLOUDS

5. THE LONG-DEPARTED LOVER

6. LADY YANG KUEI-FEI AT THE IMPERIAL FEAST OF THE PEONY—I

7. LADY YANG KUEI-FEI AT THE IMPERIAL FEAST OF THE PEONY—II

8. LADY YANG KUEI-FEI AT THE IMPERIAL FEAST OF THE PEONY—III

9. A POEM COMPOSED AT THE IMPERIAL COMMAND IN THE SPRING GARDEN, WHILE LOOKING ON THE NEWLY GREEN WILLOWS BY THE DRAGON POND AND LISTENING TO THE HUNDRED-FOLD NOTES OF THE FIRST NIGHTINGALES

10. TO HIS FRIEND DEPARTING FOR SHUH

11. TO HIS THREE FRIENDS

12. ADDRESSED HUMOROUSLY TO TU FU

13. ON A PICTURE SCREEN

14. ON ASCENDING THE NORTH TOWER ONE AUTUMN DAY

15. THE SUMMIT TEMPLE

16. LAO-LAO TING, A TAVERN

17. THE NIGHT OF SORROW

18. THE SORROW OF THE JEWEL STAIRCASE

19. THE GIRL OF PA SPEAKS

20. THE WOMEN OF YUEH—I

21. THE WOMEN OF YUEH—II

22. THE WOMEN OF YUEH—III

23. THE WOMEN OF YUEH—IV

24. THE WOMEN OF YUEH—V

25. THE SOLITUDE OF NIGHT

26. THE MONUMENT OF TEARS

27. ON A QUIET NIGHT

28. THE BLUE WATER

29. THE CHING-TING MOUNTAIN

30. WITH A MAN OF LEISURE

31. THE YO-MEI MOUNTAIN MOON

32. ON THE CITY STREET

33. ON THE DEATH OF THE GOOD BREWER OF HSUAN-CHENG

34. TO HIS WIFE

35. THE POET THINKS OF HIS OLD HOME

36. SORROW OF THE LONG GATE PALACE—I

37. SORROW OF THE LONG GATE PALACE—II

38. AN ENCOUNTER IN THE FIELD

39. TO WANG LUN

40. ON SEEING OFF MENG HAO-JAN

41. ON BEING ASKED WHO HE IS

42. IN THE MOUNTAINS

43. THE FAIR QUEEN OF WU

44. WHILE JOURNEYING

45. THE RUIN OF THE KU-SU PALACE

46. THE RUIN OF THE CAPITAL OF YUEH

47. THE RIVER JOURNEY FROM WHITE KING CITY

48. BY THE GREAT WALL—I

49. BY THE GREAT WALL—II

50. THE IMPERIAL CONCUBINE

51. PARTING AT CHING-MEN

52. ON THE YO-YANG TOWER WITH HIS FRIEND, CHIA

53. AWAKENING FROM SLEEP ON A SPRING DAY

54. THREE WITH THE MOON AND HIS SHADOW

55. AN EXHORTATION

56. THE INTRUDER

57. THE CROWS AT NIGHTFALL

58. TO MENG HAO-JAN

59. TO TUNG TSAO-CHIU

60. TAKING LEAVE OF A FRIEND

63. TO HIS TWO CHILDREN

64. TO A FRIEND GOING HOME

65. A MOUNTAIN REVELRY

66. THE OLD DUST

67. A PAIR OF SWALLOWS

68. AT A RIVER TOWN

69. I AM A PEACH TREE

70. THE SILK SPINNER

71. CHUANG CHOU AND THE BUTTERFLY

72. THE POET MOURNS HIS JAPANESE FRIEND

73. IN THE SPRING-TIME ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE YANGTZE KIANG

74. THE STEEP ROAD TO SHUH

75. PARTING AT A TAVERN OF CHIN-LING

76. THE PHOENIX BIRD TOWER

77. HIS DREAM OF THE SKY-LAND: A FAREWELL POEM

78. IN MEMORIAM

79. ON THE ROAD OF AMBITION

80. TO TU FU FROM SAND HILL CITY

81. A VINDICATION

82. TO LUH, THE REGISTRAR

83. TO THE FISHERMAN

84. THE TEARS OF BANISHMENT

85. THE LOTUS GATHERER

86. THE SPORT-FELLOWS

87. THE DANCING GIRL

88. THE ROVER OF CHAO

89. TO HIS FRIEND AT CHIANG-HSIA

90. THE CATARACT OF LUH SHAN—I

91. THE CATARACT OF LUH SHAN—II

92. BEREFT OF THEIR LOVE

93. LADY WANG-CHAO—I

94. LADY WANG-CHAO—II

95. THE NORTH WIND

96. THE BORDERLAND MOON

97. THE NEFARIOUS WAR

98. BEFORE THE CASK OF WINE

99. YUAN TAN-CHIU OF THE EAST MOUNTAIN

101. THE BALLADS OF THE FOUR SEASONS

102. THE BALLADS OF THE FOUR SEASONS

103. THE BALLADS OF THE FOUR SEASONS

104. THE BALLADS OF THE FOUR SEASONS

105. TWO LETTERS FROM CHANG-KAN—I

106. TWO LETTERS FROM CHANG-KAN—II

107. ON ASCENDING THE SIN-PING TOWER

108. ON GOING TO VISIT A TAOIST RECLUSE ON MOUNT TAI-TIEN, BUT FAILING TO MEET HIM

109. AT THE CELL OF AN ABSENT MOUNTAIN PRIEST

110. ON A MOONLIGHT NIGHT

111. A VISIT TO YUAN TAN-CHIU IN THE MOUNTAINS

112. A MIDNIGHT FAREWELL

113. THE SONG OF LUH SHAN

114. TO HIS WIFE ON HIS DEPARTURE—I

115. TO HIS WIFE ON HIS DEPARTURE—II

116. TO HIS WIFE ON HIS DEPARTURE—III

117. ON HIS WHITE HAIR

118. TO THE HONORABLE JUSTICE HSIN

119. ON HEARING THE FLUTE IN THE YELLOW CRANE HOUSE

120. ON HEARING THE FLUTE AT LO-CHENG ONE SPRING NIGHT

121. ON THE TUNG-TING LAKE—I

122. ON THE TUNG-TING LAKE—II

123. TO HIS WIFE

124. TO HIS FRIEND, WEI, THE GOOD GOVERNOR OF CHIANG-HSIA WRITTEN IN COMMEMORATION OF THE OLD FRIENDSHIP DURING THE DAYS OF HIS BANISHMENT AFTER THE TUMULT OF WAR.

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II.

125. THE EIGHT IMMORTALS OF THE WINECUP

126. THE EX-MINISTER

127. A VISIT TO FAN WITH LI PO

128. PARTING WITH LI PO ON THE TUNG-TING LAKE

129. AN INVITATION TO LI PO

130. TO LI PO ON A SPRING DAY

132. THE GRAVE OF LI PO

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III.

THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION OF THE POETIC WORKS OF LI TAI-PO by LI YANG-PING MAGISTRATE OF TANG-TU, HSUAN-CHOU, OF THE TANG DYNASTY

LI PO—A BIOGRAPHY by LIU HSU

LI PO—A BIOGRAPHY by SUNG CHI

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NOTES ON THE CHINESE TEXTS

TRANSLATIONS AND WORKS ON LI PO

POEMS OF LI PO TRANSLATED IN THIS BOOK

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25

[OMITTED]

1. ON THE SHIP OF SPICE-WOOD

My ship is built of spice-wood and has a rudder of mu-lan;
Musicians sit at the two ends with jeweled bamboo flutes and pipes of gold.
What a pleasure it is, with a cask of sweet wine
And singing girls beside me,
To drift on the water hither and thither with the waves!
I am happier than the fairy of the air, who rode on his yellow crane.
And free as the merman who followed the sea-gulls aimlessly.
Now with the strokes of my inspired pen I shake the Five Mountains.
My poem is done, I laugh and my delight is vaster than the sea.
Oh, deathless poetry! The songs of Chu-ping are ever glorious as the sun and moon,
While the palaces and towers of the Chu kings have vanished from the hills.
Yea, if worldly fame and riches were things to last forever,
The waters of the River Han would flow north-westward, too.

26

The poet is in his typical mood. The poem is a manifesto of his happy triumphant existence of freedom and of sensual and poetical indulgence.

Mu-lan is the name of a precious wood.

Chu-ping, or Chu Yuan, 332-295 B.C., was a loyal minister under Huai-wang, the ruler of the Chu state. He is celebrated for his poems, which include the famous Li Sao.

The river Han is a large tributary of the Yangtze, which originates in Shensi and flows southwestward through Hupeh, joining the main stream at Hankow.