The Poetry of the Flourishing Tang
2 min readThe Flourishing Tang
This period saw the two greatest poets in China.There are may other great poets in China but they are the most famous of all.：Li Bai is called“the Poetry God” while Du Fu“the Poetry Sage” .
LiBai
Li Bai（701-762 AD）（see Figure 65），the well-known Chinese poet，whose ancestors had their home in Longxi Gansu Province.At the end of the Sui Dynasty the family were on the move，roaming to Suiye ，now somewhere around Tokmak in the Kirghizia Republic and there Li Bai was born.At the age of five，Li Bai was brought toSichuan Province by his parents and he grew up there.
Li Bai displayed his talents even in his early years，and when he was twenty-five，he started traveling extensively to various places.As he became increasingly popular for his literary achievements，he was recommended to the imperial court，and soon Emperor Xuan Zong ，LiLongji summoned him to the capital Changan to serve in Hanlinyuan（the Imperial Academy）.
Unfortunately，hardly had two years gone by，he became a victim of the calumny of those officials in power.Under the circumstances，he was compelled to leave the capital and resumed a wanderer’s life roving about in the country.During the“An-Shi Turmoil” he became guest-advisor to Prince Yong-Li Lin .But the prince，in contending for power with the succeeding Emperor Su Zong ，was defeated in an armed struggle，and Li Bai，because of complicity，was put in prison and later sent on exile.On the way a general amnesty was declared and he was thus released.
His later life was one of constant drift and great hardships.He finally died in Dangtu in the present-day Maanshan Anhui Province.
Homesickness in a Silent Night Before my bed the sliver moonbeams spread I wonder ifit is the frost upon the ground.
