Li Bai

Li Bai (701 – 762), also known as Li Po, was a Chinese poet acclaimed from his own day to the present as a genius and a romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang Dynasty that is often called the "Golden Age of China". The expression "Three Wonders" referred to Li Bai’s poetry, Pei Min’s swordplay, and Zhang Xu’s calligraphy.

Around a thousand poems attributed to him are extant. His poems have been collected into four Tang dynasty poetry anthologies, and thirty-four of his poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century. In the same century, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. The poems were models for celebrating the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. Among the most famous are "Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day", "The Hard Road to Shu", and "Quiet Night Thought", which still appear in school texts in China. In the West, multi-lingual translations of Li's poems continue to be made. His life has even taken on a legendary aspect, including tales of drunkenness, chivalry, and the well-known fable that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river.

Li Bai (spy)

Li Bai (Chinese: 李白; 1910–1949), alternate names Li Huachu, Li Pu, Li Xia and Li Jingan, was a famous spy of the China Communist Party, born in Liuyang, Hunan.

Biography

Li Bai was born in a peasant's family. In 1925, he joined the China Communist Party, and in 1930, he joined the Chinese Red Army Red 4th Regiment. Soon, he studied wireless technology at Red Army Telecommunication School at Ruijin, Jiangxi. After graduation, he was assigned to the Red 5th Regiment as the chief and political commissar of radio station. In 1934, he followed the main force of the Red Army for Long March.

After the outburst of Second Sino-Japanese War in October 1937, Li Bai was sent for coordinating and establishing a secret radio station in Shanghai. In 1942, his radio station was found by Japanese Army; Li Bai and his wife were arrested. After the rescue of the CCP, Japanese Army thought it was his private radio station, so they were released in May 1943.

His technology skill was favored by Kuomintang, and he was hired as wireless operator at the Institute of International Issues of the Republic of China (中华民国国际问题研究所) in Chun'an, Zhejiang. After World War II, the institute moved back to Shanghai, and he became an important CCP spy into Kuomintang.

Li Bai (disambiguation)

Li Bai (701–762) was a famous Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty.

Li Bai may also refer to: