9. China’s Greatest Poet
It was at a wine party –
I lay in a drowse, knowing it not.
The blown flowers fell and filled my lap.
When I arose, still drunken,
The birds had all gone to their nests,
And there remained by few of my comrades.
I went along the river – alone in the moonlight.
Li Bo – The Solitude of Night
Li Bo (701 – 762), also pronounced Li Bai, lived during the “Golden Age of Chinese Poetry”, and has been China’s most revered poet from his lifetime to the present. His poems revolved around the depth of nature, solitude, friendship, and the joys of drinking. His poetry is considered one of the “Three Wonders” of Chinese culture, the other two being the calligraphy of Bogao and the swordsmanship of Pei Min.
