author
Shangyin Li
813–858
Remembered for poems that feel both delicate and mysterious, this late Tang writer became one of the most admired voices in classical Chinese literature. His work is famous for rich imagery, emotional depth, and lines that still invite debate and rereading centuries later.
1 Audiobook
李義山詩集
by Shangyin Li
About the author
Born around 813 and dying in 858, Li Shangyin was a poet and government official of the late Tang dynasty. Sources describe him as coming from Henei, in what is now Henan, and note that he is especially remembered for elegant, often enigmatic poetry.
His poems are known for their dense allusions, musical language, and layered feeling. That combination made him distinctive even among major Tang poets, and later readers came to prize both the beauty of his writing and the way it resists easy explanation.
Alongside his literary reputation, he also pursued an official career, though accounts suggest it was not especially successful. Even so, his poetry endured far beyond his lifetime, and he is still widely read as one of the standout poets of the Tang era.