LI SHANGYIN

'Li Shangyin' (, ca. 813–858), courtesy name 'Yishan' (義山), was a Chinese poet of the late Tang Dynasty, born in Henei (now Qinyang, Henan). Along with Li He, he was much admired and "rediscovered" in the 20th century by the young Chinese writers for the imagist quality of his poems. He is particularly famous for his tantalizing "no title" (無題) poems.
Li had a moderately successful career in the imperial civil service, although he never obtained a high position, either because of factional disputes, or because of his association with Liu Fen (劉蕡), a prominent opponent of the eunuchs.
Li was a typical Late Tang poet: his works are sensuous, dense and allusive. The latter quality makes adequate translation extremely difficult. The political, biographical or philosophical implications supposed to be contained in some of his poems have been a subject of debate for many centuries in China.
His most famous and cryptic poem is called "Jin Se" (錦瑟) (the title is only taken from the first two characters of the poem, thus also a "no title" poem), which consists of 56 characters and a string of images. His "no title" poems are regarded as "pure poetry" by some modern critics.
Although more famous for his sensuous poems, Li indeed wrote in many styles. He can be either satirical, humorous or sentimental. Moreover, some ancient critics hold that he is the only poet who, in some of his poems, succeeds in imitating the masculine quality of Du Fu's works.

Contents

Influence

References

External links

Influence

In 1968, Roger Waters of the rock band Pink Floyd borrowed lines from his poetry to create the lyrics for the song Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun from the band's second album A Saucerful of Secrets
Part of a poem by Li Shangyin is recited by a minor character in the Mortuary in the computer role-playing game .
All through his political career, Li Shangyin has been in a difficult dilemma. He was helplessly involved in the political fighting between the two parties of his time. In the beginning years of his political career, he was much appreciated by Linghu Chu, the leader of Niu Party. Anyhow, he married the daughter of Wang Maoyuan, a member of Li Party, after the death of Linghu Chu. This marriage irritated the Niu Party and Li was regarded as an ungrateful man. In the later years he was undermined by both parties and had been living an unstable life. He had to rely on this official or that in the next years. During these deppresive years he wrote many poems,"A Memory to Plum" (《忆梅》)，“The North Tower”(《北楼》)，and “Windstorm”(《风雨》), for instance, to express his disappointment, oppression and indignation.

References

★ Chen, Bohai, "Li Shangyin". ''Encyclopedia of China'' (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.

External links

★ two dozens poems of Li Shangyin in traditional Chinese and Bynner's English translation.

★ Biography, Chinese texts and translations.

★ Regulated verses of Li Shangyin, with English translation, pinyin transliteration, and tonal patterns.