Character Catalog

A four-line poem among the most memorized in all of Chinese literature, evoking homesickness by moonlight. Its apparent simplicity and emotional depth make it a timeless masterpiece.

A long lyric poem celebrating wine, friendship, and the refusal to yield to melancholy in the face of time's passage. Considered one of the pinnacles of the ancient-style poetry (gushi) of the Tang period.

A compilation of Li Bai's poetic works assembled by his cousin shortly before his death, gathering around 1,000 poems. This collection forms the foundation of all later editions of his work.

A poem composed during the difficult years following his exile, bearing witness to his ability to find beauty and serenity in the midst of personal hardship and the turmoil gripping the empire.

A sequence of three poems composed after his dismissal from court, expressing both frustration at life's obstacles and an unshakeable faith in the future. This cycle is emblematic of his genius for transforming personal experience into art.

Before my bed, the bright moonlight — it looks like frost upon the ground. I raise my head and gaze at the brilliant moon; I lower my head and think of home.

Do you not see the waters of the Yellow River descend from heaven, rushing to the sea and never returning? Do you not see in the high halls men lamenting their white hair, black as silk in the morning, white as snow by evening?

I dream of you often, my friend — a sign of how deep my affection runs. You dwelt among forests and lakes, yet you haunted my thoughts.

Li Bai, free-spirited and unburdened by worldly cares, loved wine and the composition of poetry. He traveled the mountains and rivers of the entire empire, and his reputation spread beyond the borders of China.

The imperial capital of the Tang Empire and one of the largest cities in the world at the time, Chang'an was the center of cultural and political life where Li Bai resided at the court of Emperor Xuanzong between 742 and 744.

This iconic mountain range, celebrated for its mists and waterfalls, inspired one of Li Bai's most famous poems, 'Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu', and reflects his deep love for majestic landscapes.

The place where Li Bai died in 762, having taken refuge with his cousin Li Yangbing. It was here that his poems were gathered and edited, and where he was buried at the foot of Mount Qingshan.

Li Bai traveled extensively along China's great river and celebrated it in many poems. The Three Gorges in particular, with their dizzying cliffs, fired his poetic imagination.

A garrison town on the western frontier of the Tang Empire, considered the most likely birthplace of Li Bai, bearing witness to the vast reach and cultural diversity of the empire at its height.