China: Bai Juyi (772-846), celebrated Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet. Woodblock print from 'Images of Ancient People in History', c. 1498. Bai Juyi, also known as Bo Juyi or Po Chu-i and courtesy name Letian, was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. His poems mostly concern his responsibilities as governor of several small provinces. He is also renowned in Japan, where his name is read Haku Kyo'i. Bai Juyi was born in Xinzheng to a poor but scholarly family. At the age of ten he was sent away from his family to avoid a war that broke out in the north of China, and went to live with relatives.
Bai Juyi (Wade-Giles: Po Chü-i, 772–846) was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. His poems mostly concern his responsibilities as governor of several small provinces. He is also renowned in Japan, where his name is read Haku Kyo'i. Bai Juyi was born in Xinzheng to a poor but scholarly family. At the age of ten he was sent away from his family to avoid a war that broke out in the north of China, and went to live with relatives in the area known as Jiangnan, more specifically Xuzhou. He passed the jinshi in 800. His official career was initially successful: he was a member of the Hanlin Academy and Reminder of the Left from 807 until 815, when he was demoted and exiled after remonstrating with the Emperor Xian Zong over the failure to catch the murderer of two high officials. His career resumed when he was made Prefect of Hangzhou (822-824) and then Suzhou (825-827). His grave is situated on Xiangshan, across the Yi River from the Longmen cave temples in the vicinity of Luoyang, Henan. Bai Juyi wrote over 2,800 poems, which he had copied and distributed to ensure their survival. They are notable for their relative accessibility: it is said that he would rewrite any part of a poem if one of his servants was unable to understand it. The accessibility of Bai Juyi's poems made them extremely popular in his lifetime, in both China and Japan, and they continue to be read in both countries today. Two of his most famous works are the long narrative poems The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, which tells the story of Yang Guifei, and The Song of the Pipa Player. Like Du Fu, he had a strong sense of social responsibility and is well-known for his satirical poems, such as The Elderly Charcoal Seller. Bai Juyi also wrote intensely romantic poems to fellow officials with whom he studied and traveled. These speak of sharing wine, sleeping together, and viewing the moon and mountains.
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