Customer Reviews

The Selected Poems of Li Po

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A good book that could have been better. It does not provide a Chinese text. Besides this, more extensive notes would have been useful. For example, in "Ch'ang-Kan Village Song," the wife says, "I'm not saying I'd go far to meet you, no further than Ch'ang-feng Sands." It would have been nice to know that Ch'ang-Kan was about two hundred miles downstream from Ch'ang-feng Sands. More serious is that note to the poem that states Ezra Pound "translated" this poem. Actually, Ezra Pound could not read Chinese when he wrote his version of the poem, but relied upon the writings of Ernest Fenollosa, who also could not read Chinese and relied upon Japanese scholars. Despite all this, the book does provide an enjoyable glimse of a Tang dynasty Dylan Thomas (at least as far as wine goes).

This review is meant for those who may not read a lot of poetry or are still wondering about this book after reading other reviews.

Simply put, Li Po was so good, that he was even thought of as god like. He and Tu Fu are thought of as the greatest eastern poets that have ever lived, and being that they both lived around 700 AD that is very high praise. His words are moving and deeply stirring, and though he lived in such an isolated area so very long ago, his words still have great meaning now, no matter where your from or what your culture.

Filled with Zen and philosophy, this book is a great way of spending the day.

"The birds have vanished from the sky, and now the last clouds slip away. We sit alone, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains."

A great painter, that leaves you thinking. Get this book!

Li Po( a.k.a. Le Pih, Ly Pe, Li Tai-pe) brandishes a simple albeit powerful elegance with his gift of the written word.Bringing to mind the vast panoramic expanses and the soothing beauty of ancient China he will transport you to a splendid land of dreams.In his verse you will be reminded that mankind of all nationalities still relive the same emotions, the same issues over 1000 years later.Delicate and fragile as the cherry blossom in places, tainted and grotesque as a Foo dog in others. I don't own this particular copy. My copy was published in 1928 and translated by Shigeyoshi Obata. It also is more inclusive of Li Po's work. Reading from it always sends an electric thrill through my nerves. Truly one of the Earth's greatest poets ever to breath. "I saw the moonlight before my couch, And wondered if it were not the frost on the ground. I raised my head and looked out on the mountain moon; I bowed my head and thought of my far-off home."

There is spontaneous energy in the world, and in nature specifically. Li Po, who lived in China's 8th Century T'ang Dynasty, wanders through this world and experiences this energy and spirit. He unites it to himself, and through the force of his creativity shapes some of the finest poems ever written in any language:

I hoard the sky a setting sun leaves
And love this cold stream's clarity:

Western light follows water away,
Rippled current a wanderer's heart.

"Wandering Ch'ing-Ling Stream in Nan-Yang"

Truth in advertising: I do not know the Chinese language, and so my comments are completely based on the translated versions of Li Po's poems. David Hinton, the translator of this volume, winner of the 1997 Morton Landon Translation Award, has published translations of the poems of Meng Chaio, Bei Dao and Tu Fu.

Strangely to our sensibility, Li Po not only pursues this natural energy and beauty wherever he can find it, but also believes that wine is a good way to enhance the experience. While he scales high mountains to sit with Buddhist monks and converse about enlightenment, he also seems to find enlightenment in drunkenness.

Many of Li Po's most interesting poems are about the experience of being inebriated or arguments in favor of drinking. One of my favorites is "Facing Wine:"

Never refuse wine. I'm telling you,
People come smiling in spring winds:
. . .
Yesterday we were flush with youth,
And today, white hair's an onslaught.

. . . If you don't drink wine,
Where are those ancient people now?

In "Facing Wine" Li Po combines two of the most profound themes of poetry: the "ubi sunt" theme (where are they now) and the "carpe diem" theme (sieze the day). Both motifs figure highly Roman and Medieval Latin poetry.

Li Po is funny, entertaining and enlightening. A poet of great personal magnetism and dynamic power.

I had read poems of Li Po translated into German and French in the past but I really enjoyed this edition.
I quoted the poem about departing Yangzhou to my Chinese scholar friend who remarked that the translation looses some of the essence from Chinese.

Great introduction as well as selection of poems from each stage of his life. This was my first book of his poems and I couldn't be happier. I took some older books out at my local library but they were choppy and dense and not at all the refreshing and clear stuff of this book.

Li Po fits perfectly into the modern class of poor sensitive vagabonds (Hamsun, Celine, Fante, Bukowski) and is sort of their Prince (because obviously the King is Catullus). His influence on just about everything is so obvious after you read these poems, and they are some of the most beautiful things ever put onto paper. Ezra Pound was a large fan and in fact translated some of his work. Anyone who buys this book should thank God they did, otherwise they are a sinner!!!