Bai Li

Born in 701 and dead in 762, Li Bai—also widely known in English as Li Po—became one of the most admired poets in Chinese history. Sources agree that he is often placed alongside Du Fu as one of the two towering figures of Tang poetry, and later readers gave him the memorable nickname "Poet Immortal."

He grew up in what is now Sichuan and spent much of his life traveling. That restless life shaped his poetry: again and again he returned to rivers, mountains, friendship, solitude, drinking, and the feeling of being far from home. His verse is especially loved for its musical ease, bold imagination, and sense of freedom.

Li Bai also spent time connected to the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, though court life did not hold him for long. Around a thousand of his poems survive, and they have remained beloved for centuries, not only in China but around the world through translation.