⬅️ 唐诗 Tang Poems
Li He (790-816 AD) was a poet in mid Tang Dynasty. According to the Old Tang Book, Li He was a distant descent of the imperial family of Tang dynasty. However, to his generation, Li He's branch had become so remote that his father only worked as a low-rank official. Li He said he and his brother grew up in poverty and had to leave home at very young age to make a living. Although his talent made him well-known, he was prohibited from taking the Jinshi （进士） imperial examination due to the "naming taboo". The first character of his father's name Jin (晋) had the same pronunciation as the first character of Jin-shi (进士). Should Li He passed the examination, he would be granted the title of Jin-shi.
According to New Tang Book (新唐书), every morning Li He left home and started his wandering on the back of his skinny horse, with a brocade bag on his back and followed by a servant, looking for the inspiration of poetry. He never pre set the theme or topic of his poems. Whenever he got an idea or a good line, he wrote it down and threw it into his bag. He would not return to home until it was dark. The only exceptional day was when he was too drunk, or when it was a mourning day. One day his mother asked a maid to check Li He's bag. It was full of his notes and poems. His mother sighed "This son is not going to stop until he works his heart out." Indeed, Li He was only 26 when he died. Today about 220 of Li he's poems are extant.
Lingyan Pavilion (凌烟阁) mentioned in the poem was a small tower located in the Taiji Palace (太极宫) in Chang'an, the capital of Tang Dynasty. In 643 AD, the Emperor Taizong (唐太宗) asked the famous painter Yan Liben to paint the portraits of 24 meritorious officials for their contributions to the establishment of Tang Dynasty. Lingyan Pavilion later was destroyed in the war during the period of late Tang .
