5

Li Pai (701–762) aka Li Po, and Tu Fu are ranked as China’s two greatest poets. Li was born in what is now Kyrgyzstan and grew up in Szechuan north of Chengtu. For a brief period he was a favorite of the court, but he soon fell into disfavor and spent most of his life wandering along the Yangtze, a guest of those who appreciated his talent and unrestrained spirit. He wrote this poem in 753, during one of several stays in Hsuancheng, a town south of Nanching still famous for its rice paper. Chingting Mountain was five kilometers northwest of the old city wall. Although its peak was only 300 meters high, it was known for its crags and cliffs and was also where the poet Hsieh T’iao (464–499) wrote many of his most famous landscape poems. On this visit, Li observes the transience of the world around him and his separation from it. But he also becomes aware of his oneness with the mountain. According to a tradition at least as old as Confucius, water represents wisdom (teaching us an awareness of impermanence) and mountains represent compassion (teaching us an awareness of the unchanging nature we share with all things). The images here also extend beyond the natural world: the birds represent officials, the lone clouds represent solitary spiritual seekers, and the mountain is the Tao.

Sitting Alone on Chingting Mountain

LI PAI

Flocks of birds disappear in the distance

lone clouds wander away

who never tires of my company

only Chingting Mountain