Bai Juyi

Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chu-i; Chinese: 白居易; pinyin: Bai Juyi; 772–846) was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang Dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as governor of three different provinces. Burton Watson says of Bai Juyi: "he worked to develop a style that was simple and easy to understand, and posterity has requited his efforts by making him one of the most well-loved and widely read of all Chinese poets, both in his native land and in the other countries of the East that participate in the appreciation of Chinese culture. He is also, thanks to the translations and biographical studies by Arthur Waley, one of the most accessible to English readers". Bai was also influential in the historical development of Japanese literature. His younger brother Bai Xingjian was a short story writer.

Name variants

Bai Juyi often referred to himself in life as Letian (Wade-Giles: Lo-t'ien), roughly the equivalent of "happy-go-lucky". Later in life, he referred to himself as the Hermit of Xiangshan.