A+
for an
Ancient Articulate Li
Li Bai
Distinguished Poet (Lived app: 700 to 762 AD)
Various English translations record his name as Li Bo; Li Tai Bai; Li Po or Li T'ai Po.
(Probably, his mother just called him Little Li and didn’t concern herself with the peculiarities of English pronunciations and interpretations of Chinese names.)
Li Bai, along with his Tang Dynasty buddies, Du Fu and Wang Wei, are seen as the three top poets in China’s 5,000 year history.
The Tang Dynasty (Appr: 618 to 907 AD) is often considered China's Golden Age, thanks to these three and a few other poets; the development of woodblock printing; the printing of the first book; the establishment of Chinese Opera; the perfection of gun powder; and the creation of a civil service bureaucracy. Anyone who has ever waited in line for hours to have a government clerk stamp a Chop on a piece of paper can pay due homage to this final accomplishment.
Poetry flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Perhaps, it was the purity of the water.
In Li Bai’s case, it appears to be due to the abundance of wine. It seems the only thing Li Bai liked more than writing poetry was sipping wine. So much so that
Li Bai is known as one of “The Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup”. If we are to believe his pal, the stoic, Confucian Du Fu, Li Bai was the Club President.
Li Bai’s prolific writing skill Is attributed to his ability to commandeer sudden bursts of Taoist energy. He is credited with penning more than 1,000 poems.
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Alas, his party boy attitude done him in and his demise was precipitated by a jug of wine. One night, supposedly, while chug-a-lugging the good stuff, he found himself in a small boat in the middle of a lake. This circumstance led to his being enamored by the moon’s reflection on the water. He desired to become one with this beautiful sight, and wrap his arms around the moonbeam. He kept trying to grasp the moonbeam and kept bending further over the side of the boat to achieve this goal. Well, let’s just say, his final drink was pure water, lots of it, and he never touched the hard stuff again. He died doing what he loved best; flowing along in a mellow state, while chasing a romantic fantasy. |
| When one reads Li Bai’s poem Amusing Myself, one gets the picture. |
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| The http://www.chinese-poems.com/ translation captures the essence of both the poem and Li Bai. Facing my wine; I did not see the dusk. |
Interestingly, his origins were probably not Chinese (Han), but rather, Turkish or Uyghur (similar to the current day natives of Xinjiang.)
Li Bai gets an A+ for magically spinning
simple words into golden poetry.
Perhaps his career as a poet could have been prolonged, had not taken up moonbeam hugging!
However, had he given up wine, his golden tongue and silver thoughts would probably have suffered.
A+ for
an
Active and Athletic Li
Li Lai-Shan (Also Lee Lai Shan)
(b 1970 Sep 05)
1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner
for Windsurfing
In the 110 year history of the Olympics, only one athlete,
has brought home the Gold
to
Hong Kong. It was a Li, naturally.
An A+ for her Alchemistic Ability
to combine
Wind, Water
and Levitational skills
and create Gold
An
Acting Athletic Li
Jet Li
(b 1963 April 26)
Movie Star
An A+ for combining
Kung Fu Kicking
with
Popcorn to create Gold
An
Affluent, Asset-maxing Li
Li Ka-Shing
(b 1928 July 29)
Purportedly, the richest
man in Hong Kong
& a few other places.
Who could believe that
pushing
Plastic Flowers
is the pathway
to prosperity?
A+ for turning the simplistic
into gold. Forbes magazine lists
Mr. Li Ka-Shing as the 10th richest
person in the world.
(Can I interest anyone in
a plastic Hawaiian flower lei?)
An
Agile Allegro Li
Li Yu Chun
(b 1984 March 10)
An A+ for turning an
"All that Jazz" Appeal into Gold
Can
3.2 million Chinese be wrong?
for nonbelievers,
name one other Chinese
in the last 5,000 years who
received more votes
than our
Supergirl Li.
For the uninformed, that's the Bank of East Asia (BEA), Order of the British Empire (OBE),
Sir David Li Kwok Po.
Dear Sir David,
We fully realize you are the Chairman and Chief Executive of the largest private bank in Hong Kong.; you have your own college and, sure
the British government
has knighted you.
That's all good. Very good.
We are impressed.
However, you didn't quite make it on the Li888.com list.
Perhaps, the secret is to focus on your goals, . . . a bit more.
We wish you the best in next year's selections and encourage you to keep trying..