Li Bai the Tang Poet

Li Bai (李白) was a Tang Dynasty poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets in China.   He was part of the group of Chinese scholars called the "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup" in a poem composed by fellow poet Du Fu.

At one point in his career, he was appointed as a member of the Han Ling(翰林) ie Imperial Academy.  Apparently his duty was essentially to compose poems for the emperor Tang Ming Huang when summoned.  He is said to have an unrestrained character and  a tendency to offend those in power.  On one occasion, it is said that he got the emperor to order the influential eunuch Gao Li Shi (高力士） to remove his boots before he would compose a poem.  The eunuch was gravely offended and waited for an opportunity to take revenge.  Later Li Bai composed a poem for the emperor's favourite consort Yang Gui Fei　（杨贵妃）.  In the poem, he compared Yang Gui Fei to Zhao Fei Yan　（赵飞燕）, a court beauty of Han Dynasty.  She was initially flattered by the comparison but Gao Li Shi reminded her of the tragic end of Zhao Fei Yan.  Yang Gui Fei was angered and may have indirectly caused Li Bai to lose the emperor's favour.  Expectedly he did not have a successful official career and resigned subsequently and spent most his life travelling..   

Li Bai died in 762 . Some said he died of illness due to excess drinking.  Another version of his death was he drown when in a drunken state he tried to scoop the moon out of the river.

Li Bai is often depicted on painting as a drunken man resting on a pot of wine.  Another favourite subject is showing Gao Li Shi removing Li Bai's boot.