Li He: Difference between revisions
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Li He was born in 790 or 791.{{efn|Ueki et al. (1999 : 110) give "790?", ''Nipponica'' and ''Digital Daijisen'' give 790, while Fukazawa (2013 : 1219), Gotō (2002 : 71), ''Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten'', ''World Encyclopedia'' and ''Daijirin'' give 791.}}<!-- Does this one-year variance, in both his birth and death dates, refer to the traditional Chinese calendar? None of my sources give months for either date, so it doesn't seem like the sources give different years because he was born in January. User:Hijiri88, January 2027. --> Various dates are given for him, some more credible than others. It seems likely that he was born in the [[Chinese zodiac|year of the Horse]], as some twenty-three of his surviving poems use the horse as a symbol for the poet.<ref name=frodsham>Frodsham 1983.<!-- Page number? --></ref> |
Li He was born in 790 or 791.{{efn|Ueki et al. (1999 : 110) give "790?", ''Nipponica'' and ''Digital Daijisen'' give 790, while Fukazawa (2013 : 1219), Gotō (2002 : 71), ''Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten'', ''World Encyclopedia'' and ''Daijirin'' give 791.}}<!-- Does this one-year variance, in both his birth and death dates, refer to the traditional Chinese calendar? None of my sources give months for either date, so it doesn't seem like the sources give different years because he was born in January. User:Hijiri88, January 2027. --> Various dates are given for him, some more credible than others. It seems likely that he was born in the [[Chinese zodiac|year of the Horse]], as some twenty-three of his surviving poems use the horse as a symbol for the poet.<ref name=frodsham>Frodsham 1983.<!-- Page number? --></ref> |
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He was a native of Fuchang (福昌, west of modern-day [[Yiyang County, Henan|Yiyang County, Henan Province]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Ueki et al.|1p=110|1y=1999}} |
He was a native of Fuchang (福昌, west of modern-day [[Yiyang County, Henan|Yiyang County, Henan Province]]).{{sfnm|1a1=Ueki et al.|1p=110|1y=1999}} He started composing poetry at the age of 7, and by around 15 he was being compared to the ''[[yuefu]]'' master [[Li Yi (poet)|Li Yi]].{{sfnm|1a1=Fukazawa|1p=1219|1y=2013}} |
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When Li was 20, he attempted to take the [[Imperial Examination]], but was forbidden from doing so by his father, owing to [[naming taboo]]: the first character (晉 jin) of his father's given name (晉肅 Jinsu) was a homonym of the first character (進) of [[Jinshi (imperial examination)|Jinshi]] (進士), the name of the degree that would have been conferred on him had he passed.{{sfnm|1a1=Fukazawa|1p=1219|1y=2013}} |
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Encouraged by [[Han Yu]], who admired his talent, Li took the examination but failed it. Despite his distant royal ancestry (to the Li family who were the ruling dynastic family of the Tang Dynasty).<ref name=frodsham/> Li He died a low-ranking and poor official, at the age of about 27.<ref name=frodsham/> |
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== Names == |
== Names == |
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Revision as of 11:39, 28 January 2017
| Li He | |
|---|---|
 Li He, as depicted in the 1743 book Wanxiaotang Zhuzhuang Huazhuan (晩笑堂竹荘畫傳) | |
| Traditional Chinese | 李賀 |
| Simplified Chinese | 李贺 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Hè |
| Wade–Giles | Li Ho |
| Courtesy name: Changji | |
| Traditional Chinese | 長吉 |
| Simplified Chinese | 长吉 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Chángjí |
| Nickname: Shigui | |
| Traditional Chinese | 詩鬼 |
| Simplified Chinese | 诗鬼 |
| Literal meaning | Ghost of Poetry |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shīguǐ |
Template:Chinese name Li He (790/791–816/817) was a Chinese poet of the mid-Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Changji, and he is also known as Guicai and Shigui.
He is known for his dense and allusive use of symbolism, for his use of synecdoche, for his vividly imaginative (and often fantastic) imagery, and for his otherwise sometimes unconventional style of poetry. However, these qualities lead to a revival of interest in him and his poetry in the twentieth century.
Biography
Li He was born in 790 or 791.[a] Various dates are given for him, some more credible than others. It seems likely that he was born in the year of the Horse, as some twenty-three of his surviving poems use the horse as a symbol for the poet.[1]
He was a native of Fuchang (福昌, west of modern-day Yiyang County, Henan Province).[2] He started composing poetry at the age of 7, and by around 15 he was being compared to the yuefu master Li Yi.[3]
When Li was 20, he attempted to take the Imperial Examination, but was forbidden from doing so by his father, owing to naming taboo: the first character (晉 jin) of his father's given name (晉肅 Jinsu) was a homonym of the first character (進) of Jinshi (進士), the name of the degree that would have been conferred on him had he passed.[3]
Encouraged by Han Yu, who admired his talent, Li took the examination but failed it. Despite his distant royal ancestry (to the Li family who were the ruling dynastic family of the Tang Dynasty).[1] Li He died a low-ranking and poor official, at the age of about 27.[1]
Names
His courtesy name was Changji.[2] He was also known as Guicai (鬼才 "devilish talent") by contrast of his morbid personality to Li Bo's Tiancai (天才 "heavenly talent") and Bo Juyi's Rencai (人才 "humanly talent").[4]
Works
About 240 of Li He's poems survive. His works were admired by the group of poets in the late Tang Dynasty who practiced similar poetic techniques. His collected poems were prefaced by Du Mu, and a short biography was written by Li Shangyin. Although his works were admired by many during and since his lifetime, they were not accepted in the canonical tradition: none of his poems made their way into the popular anthologies such as the Three Hundred Tang Poems.
Reception
The Song-era commentator Yan Yu in his work Canglang Shihua (滄浪詩話) contrasted Li to the earlier poet Li Bai.[b][5]
In his article for the Chūgoku Bunkashi Daijiten, Japanese Sinologist Kazuyuki Fukazawa called Li "the representative poet of the Middle Tang".[c][3]
According to Sinologist Francois Jullien, Li He's poetry was readmitted to the Chinese literary canon "at the end of the nineteenth century ... [when] ... Western notions of romanticism [allowed] the Chinese to reexamine this poet, allowing the symbolism of his poems to speak at last, freeing his imaginary world from the never-ending quest for insinuations."[6]
Along with Li Bai and Li Shangyin, Li He is one of the "Three Lis" (三李), loved by Mao Zedong, and others.
In popular culture
- In 1968, Roger Waters of the rock band Pink Floyd borrowed lines from Li's poetry to create the lyrics for the song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".[7]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Frodsham 1983.
- ^ a b Ueki et al. 1999, p. 110.
- ^ a b c Fukazawa 2013, p. 1219.
- ^ Ueki et al. 1999, p. 111.
- ^ Gotō 2002, p. 71-72.
- ^ Jullien 2004, p. 73.
- ^ Allusions to Classical Chinese poetry in Pink Floyd
Works cited
- "Li He (Ri Ga in Japanese)". Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten (in Japanese). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2014. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - J. D. Frodsham (1983). The Poems of Li He (790-816). San Francisco: NorthPointPress. ISBN 0-86547-084-7.
- Fukazawa, Kazuyuki (2013). "Li He (Ri Ga in Japanese)". In Ozaki, Yūichirō; Chikusa, Masaaki; Togawa, Yoshio (eds.). Chūgoku Bunkashi Daijiten 中国文化史大事典 (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten. pp. 1219–1220. ISBN 978-4469012842.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Gotō, Yuri (2002). Ri Ga "Kisen" nitsuite no ichikōsatsu: Ri Haku "Tensen" to no hikaku kara (PDF) (thesis). Osaka University. pp. 71–85. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - A. C. Graham (1977). Penguin Classics: Poems Of The Late Tang. Penguin Group.
- Francois Jullien (2004). Detour and Access: Strategies of Meaning in China and Greece. ISBN 1-890951-11-0.
- Qian, Zhongnian, "Li He". Encyclopedia of China (Chinese Literature Edition), 1st ed.
- Ueki, Hisayuki; Uno, Naoto; Matsubara, Akira (1999). "Shijin to Shi no Shōgai (Ri Ga)". In Matsuura, Tomohisa (ed.). Kanshi no Jiten 漢詩の事典 (in Japanese). Vol. 1. Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten. pp. 110–113. OCLC 41025662.
External links
- Biography
- Works by He Li at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about He Li at the Internet Archive
- "Poems by 9th Century Chinese Poet Li He", a selection of poems by Li He, with translation and calligraphy, Brink Magazine, October 2008.
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