Li Peh (Tai Peh; Tsing Lien) lived during the T'ang Dynasty, probably
from A.D. 699 to 762, and he is regarded as the most brilliant of all
Chinese poets.
He was connected by descent in the ninth generation with the Imperial
family of the T'ang Dynasty, but was born in a remote part of the Empire
now included in the Szechwan Province.
When but ten years old Li Peh was familiar with poetry and other
branches of literature, and, as he grew older, his ability and genius
attracted the attention and praise of the highest in the land. When
introduced to the Court at Chang-an, Ho Chi-chang, one of the courtiers,
exclaimed:--'He is one of the immortal genii banished to earth.' For a
short time, too, he was greatly favoured by the Emperor, Hsueen-Tsung,
but, having incurred the enmity of the Emperor's chief concubine, he had
to withdraw from the Court and relinquish all hopes of official
promotion.
He then travelled widely, writing many poems on the beauties of nature,
and also in praise of wine and music, to the former of which he was too
strongly addicted.
In the later part of his life, it seems, he became involved in political
intrigues, for which offence he was banished to a distant region. But in
his old age he was allowed to return, and he ended his days peacefully
at T'ang-t'u (a place near the modern Nankin), whose governor was a
kinsman named Li Yang-ping.