author
He Li
790–816
A brilliant Tang dynasty poet, he became famous for eerie, imaginative verses filled with ghosts, dreams, and striking images. Though he died very young, his unusual voice left a lasting mark on Chinese poetry.
1 Audiobook
李賀詩選
by He Li
About the author
Li He was a Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty, born around 790 and dead by about 816 or 817. He is often remembered as a writer of intense imagination, with poems that feel dreamlike, dark, and richly symbolic.
Accounts of his life describe him as gifted from a young age, but his career was cut short. Traditional sources say he was blocked from the highest civil service examination because of a naming taboo, and he died in his twenties. That short life helped shape his legend as a rare, troubled talent.
His poetry stands out for its strange beauty: spirits, history, sorrow, and sudden flashes of color all appear in his work. Later readers and critics continued to admire him for a style that feels bold and distinctive even centuries later.