Li Shangyin of The Late Tang
2 min readLi Shangyin
LiShangyin was a Chinese poet of the late Tang dynasty，born in Huaizhou in Hunan Province.
Li Shangyin had a moderately successful career in the government service，although he never obtained a high posiLi Shangyin was a typical Late Tang poet:his works are sensuous，dense and allusive.The latter quality makes adequate translation extremely difficult.Many of his poems have political，romantic or philosophical implications，but these are often unclear.All the same，there is no denial of the richness and beauty of his best works.
Li Shangyin wrote some of the most lyrical verses known in Chinese poetry，in particular poems about unconsummated love.His use of words with deep meanings，usually linked to some well known ancient lore，but sometimes purely by his clever choice of the right characters，resulted in short butdensely poetical rhymes that evoke strong sympathies in the reader，in a truly timeless fashion that is as effective today as in his own time.
Not least among the appeal of Li’s poems is their ambiguity:are the love poems just about love，or do they have philosophical or political overtones？Was unrequited love symbolic of his failure to find favor at court among the high officials，and his lamentations about public，rather than just personal，misery？
All of this，he express in his poems，which gives ambiguity for readers.But it deserves the worth of literature which should always leave rooms for readers.So the mastery in his poems provides no harm for his poetic craftsmanship but uniqueness of Li Shangyin.Most of his famous poems are untitled.
It is hard to meet；it is hard to part；The east wind is weak，the flowers die.
With the spring silkworm’s death，the threads end；When the candle turns to ash，the teardrops dry.
The morning mirror frowns on my newly cloudy hair；At night reading poetry，feel the moon’s cold stare.
The Magic Mountain is not so far from here；A busy green bird will keep a careful eye.
