Bai Juyi
Tang dynasty poet, politician, and musician known for vernacular verse and long narrative poems.
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Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; Mandarin pinyin Bái Jūyì; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician during the Tang dynasty. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as governor of three different provinces. He achieved fame as a writer of verse in a low-key, near vernacular style that was popular throughout medieval East Asia.
Bai was also influential in the historical development of Japanese literature, where he is better known by the on'yomi reading of his courtesy name, Haku Rakuten (shinjitai: 白楽天). His younger brother Bai Xingjian was a short story writer. Among his most famous works are the long narrative poems 'Chang Hen Ge' ('Song of Everlasting Sorrow'), which tells the story of Yang Guifei, and 'Pipa xing' ('Song of the Pipa').
Lore & Background
Bai Juyi lived during the Middle Tang period, following the An Lushan Rebellion. He was born in 772 in Taiyuan, Shanxi, and spent most of his childhood in Zhengyang, Henan. His family was poor but scholarly; his father was an Assistant Department Magistrate of the second-class.
At age ten he was sent away to avoid war, living with relatives in Xuzhou. His father's death in 794 led to hard times. He passed the jinshi examinations in 800, took up residence in Chang'an in 801, and formed a long friendship with scholar Yuan Zhen. In 806 he was appointed a minor official at Zhouzhi.
He became a member of the Hanlin Academy in 807 and Reminder of the Left from 807 until 815, except during a mourning period for his mother (811–814). In 814 he held the title of Assistant Secretary to the Prince's Tutor. In 815, after the assassination of Chancellor Wu Yuanheng, Bai Juyi overstepped his position by memorializing the emperor.
His opponents also used two poems against him as a sign of lack of filial piety. He was demoted to Sub-Prefect and exiled to Jiujiang (then known as Xunyang). After three years, he was sent as Governor of a remote place in Sichuan. In 819 he was recalled to the capital.
In 822 he was sent as Governor of Hangzhou, where he built a stronger dike and a causeway at West Lake. In 824 his commission expired and he relocated to a suburb of Luoyang. In 825, at age 53, he was given the governorship of Suzhou.
Reader's Guide
Key points: his childhood location is given as Zhengyang, Henan (not Xinzheng); his exile location is Xunyang (not Xun Yang); after exile he was Governor of a remote place in Sichuan (not specifically Zhongzhou); the assassination victim is referred to as Chancellor Wu Yuanheng (not Prime Minister).
Did You Know?
- He lived through the reigns of eight or nine emperors.
- He was a devoted Chan Buddhist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Bai Juyi's most famous works?
He is best remembered for two long narrative poems, 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow' and 'Song of the Pipa,' though his shorter verses drawn from daily life and official duties also earned him a broad readership.
What made Bai Juyi's poetry style stand out?
He deliberately wrote in a plain, near-vernacular register rather than the ornate classical diction favored by his contemporaries, which made his verse widely accessible and popular across medieval East Asia.
What was Bai Juyi's role in government?
Beyond his literary career, he served as a politician and held governor positions in three different provinces, and those administrative experiences frequently shaped the subject matter of his writing.
How did Bai Juyi influence Japanese literature?
His work left a lasting imprint on the historical development of Japanese literature, and in Japan he is more commonly recognized by the on'yomi reading of his courtesy name, Haku Rakuten, rather than by his given name.
More in Writers & Poets
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bai Juyi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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