Poem

Kuangshan in present-day Sichuan, where the poet Li Bai (701-62) is thought to have studied Chinese as a boy, in a Buddhist monastery. Painting by Lu Yanshao, 1979.

Du Fu on Li Bai

It's a long time since I saw my friend Li, feigning crazy, truly pitiful!
Everyone wanted him dead, I alone cherished his tender talent.
A thousand poems leapt in the air, a cup of wine dropped to the ground.
On Kuang Mountain he learned his letters; good if he could return, with his white hair.

不见李生久，佯狂真可哀！
世人皆欲杀，吾意独怜才。
敏捷诗千首，飘零酒一杯。
匡山读书处，头白好归来。