Li Bai

Japanese: 李白 - りはく

A Chinese poet from the prosperous Tang Dynasty. One of China's greatest poets. His pen name was Taibai and his pen name was Qingren Jushi. He is commonly referred to as "Li and Du" along with Du Fu, who was also from the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Compared to Du Fu, who was known as the "poet saint," and Wang Wei, who was known as the "poet Buddha," Li Bai is known as the "poet immortal." He was also nicknamed "the exiled immortal," and in later generations was known by his official title, Li Hanlin. Approximately 1,050 poems and over 60 pieces of writing remain.

[Toshio Nakajima]

Life

Much about his life is unclear, and much of it, including his birth year, is speculation. His family originated from Chengji County, Longxi County (near Qin'an County, Gansu Province). He claimed to be the 9th generation grandson of King Wuzhao of Xiliang, Li Hao, and to be of the same lineage as the Tang dynasty, but this is considered hard to believe. It is believed that his family moved to the Western Regions at the end of the Sui Dynasty due to a crime. His father is said to have been a wealthy merchant in the Western Regions. He was born in Suiye (near Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan) in the Western Regions, or in Longchang County, Shu (Jiangyou County, Sichuan Province), and his family returned from the Western Regions to Shu around the time of his birth. At around the age of 25, he left Shu and traveled down the Yangtze River (Changjiang/Changjiang), and spent the rest of his life traveling.

Li Bai showed genius in poetry from an early age, but he also loved the world of swordsmanship and chivalry. He also devoted himself to Taoism from a young age and longed for the world of immortals, spending a lot of time in the mountains. The fantastical quality of his poetry was supported by his Taoist ideas, and the mountains became one of the important stages of his poetic world. After leaving Shu, he traveled around Dongting Lake, Wu and Yue (around Nanjing and Hangzhou), and in Anlu (Hubei Province), he married the granddaughter of Xu Yushi, a prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty, and lived there for about 10 years. During that time, he rarely settled down at home, but traveled all over the country, associating with many poets and Taoists such as Meng Haoran and Yuan Danqiu, and his footsteps reached all parts of China. Later, he established homes in Rencheng (Shandong Province) and Nanling (Anhui Province). It is believed that it was during his time in Rencheng that he retired to Mount Sorai with Kong Suofu and others and was known as one of the "Six Illusions of Bamboo River." After the death of his wife, Xu, he married Liu and then Song, and had two children: a daughter, Pingyang, and a son, Boqin. Li Bai wrote some excellent poems expressing his love for his wife and children, but it seems that a great poet was not necessarily a good husband or father.

Li Bai was unusual among poets of the Tang Dynasty in not taking the imperial examination. He was proud of his talent and believed that he would be highly valued and would be able to demonstrate his political skills, but contrary to his expectations, the opportunity did not come for a long time. When he was in a state of anxiety and despair, the time came. At the age of 43, Li Bai went to the capital Chang'an, where he was summoned by Emperor Xuanzong, received a warm welcome, and became the Emperor's close aide, Hanlin attendant. These one or two years were the period of glory in his unfortunate life. Du Fu's poem "Li Bai One Dish of Poetry, One Hundred Poems, Sleeping in a Restaurant in Chang'an City. The Emperor Calls for Me, but Does Not Get on the Boat, Calling Himself a Sage Among Wine" (Song of the Eight Immortals While Drinking) describes Li Bai's appearance at that time. However, Li Bai's unrestrained personality led to slander from those close to the emperor, and he was finally unable to remain in the palace and left the capital. After leaving the capital, Li Bai met Du Fu, who was 11 years younger than him, in Luoyang, and they formed a friendship. Although their relationship was short-lived, their friendship continued throughout their lives even after they parted ways.

In 755, the An Lushan Rebellion broke out and rebel forces invaded Chang'an. Xuanzong fled to Sichuan, and Suzong took the throne. Li Bai, 55 years old, was in Lushan (Jiangxi Province) at the time, but was invited by Suzong's younger brother, King Yong, to join his army. However, King Yong was considered a rebel due to his animosity with Suzong, and was suppressed. Li Bai was also captured and sentenced to death, but his sentence was later commuted and he was exiled to Yelang (Guizhou Province), and when he traveled up the Yangtze River to the Three Gorges, he was pardoned again. He spent his later years in Jiangnan, where he died of illness at the age of 62 under Li Yangbing, the magistrate of Dangtu County (Anhui Province).

[Toshio Nakajima]

Poetic style

Li Bai's poetry is in a style where the words flow and become poetry as they are, whereas Du Fu's poetry is refined. Li Bai excels at gafu and seven-character quatrains, whereas Du Fu's five-character regulated verse is. For example, the verse "The two men drink together, and the flowers bloom in the mountains, one cup after another" is a good example of his free-thinking and rhythmic style that is not bound by conventions. As a representative poet of the prosperous Tang dynasty, Li Bai was filled with great ambition and pride in people, the times, and himself, and he incorporated these into his poetry. For example, "If great elegance is not produced for a long time, and I become weak, who will be the one to be Chen in the end" in "Gu Feng" (Ancient Feng) Part 1 and "The heavens will surely produce my material, and there will be a use for it" in "Jiang Jin Jiu" (Chiang Jin Jiu). However, as the era changed from Kaiyuan (713-741) to Tianbao (742-755), his spirit and pride were shattered by the reality of deepening corruption under despotic dictatorship. The poet, who confronted the joys of life head-on, saying, "To achieve your purpose in life, you must enjoy all the pleasures you can" (Shogjinjiu), could not help but always harbor in his heart what he called "eternal sorrow" -- the sorrow that comes with being alive. He loved to write about wine, the moon, and mountains, and about travel, separation, and intimate love, and he unfolded his sorrow in them, sometimes in a noble and grand manner, and sometimes in a quiet and gentle manner. Many of Li Bai's poems became widely known. Some of the well-known famous phrases include, "My white hair is 3,000 meters long, as long as each of us is, due to my sadness" (Qiu P'u Song), "The moon shines above Chang'an, and the sound of ten thousand households flapping their clothes" (Zi Ye Wu Song), "The deceased leaves the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and in the third month of the month, smoke and flowers bloom, and descend to Yangzhou" (from the Yellow Crane Tower, sending off Meng Haoran to Guangling), "The difficulties of the road to Shu are more difficult than ascending into the blue sky" (The difficulties of the road to Shu), "What is the meaning of your question, that you live in the green mountains? You laugh and give no answer, and your mind becomes peaceful of its own accord" (Dialogue in the Mountains), and "When you draw your sword and cut off the water, the water flows further; when you raise a cup to dispel your sadness, the sadness becomes even more sad" (A farewell gift to the proofreader Shuyun at Xie Yuan Tower, Xuanzhou). He also wrote many other masterpieces, including "Drinking Alone Under the Moon," "Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain," "Early to the White Emperor's City," "Send to Wang Lun," "Traveling to Heling," and "The Treatise on Qingping."

There are an unparalleled number of legends and anecdotes about Li Bai, from his birth, when his mother dreamed that the star Taibai (Venus) was in his bosom while pregnant, so that he was given the name, to his death, when he fell into water while trying to scoop up the moon's reflection in a stream, and color his extraordinary and brilliant life. One of the most famous stories is that when he was summoned by Emperor Xuanzong during his stay in Chang'an, he was so drunk that he had the eunuch Gao Lishi put on his shoes and instantly composed a poem.

The evaluation of Li Bai's poetry, like the treatment he received during his lifetime, was not necessarily as high as it should have been. After Han Yu of the mid-Tang dynasty praised him, saying, "Li Bai's writings are outstanding, and the light and flames are endless," it was not until Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi of the Song dynasty that Li Bai's poetry was considered to be at the pinnacle of poetry.

[Toshio Nakajima]

text

Li Bai's prose texts include the "Li Hanlin Collection" compiled by Wei Hao and the "Caotang Collection" by Li Yangbing during the Tang Dynasty, but these are no longer available. The oldest extant texts are the 30-volume "Li Hanlin Collection," compiled by Song Minqiu of the Northern Song Dynasty and following the lineage of texts compiled by the "Rakushi" (music history) of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the 30-volume "Li Taibai Collection" compiled by Song Minqiu of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Seikado Bunko in Tokyo has a Northern Song version of the latter lineage. As for annotated versions, the ones widely used are the Southern Song Yang Qixian annotated "Classified and Annotated Li Taibai Collection" annotated by Xiao Shibin of the Yuan Dynasty, and the "Li Taibai Collection" annotated by Wang Qi of the Qing Dynasty. In Japan, "Three Volumes of Li Bai's Poetry and Writings" is included in the "Catalogue of Documents Observed in Japan" compiled by Fujiwara no Sukeyo during the Kanpyo era (889-898), and the 25 volumes of "Classified and Annotated Poems of Li Bai" with annotations by Yang Qixian of the Song dynasty and Xiao Shibin of the Yuan dynasty were published in 1679 (Enpo 7), and these poems have been read second only to those of Du Fu.

[Toshio Nakajima]

"Takebe Toshio's Annotated New Chinese Poets Anthology 2: Li Bai (1983, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Aoki Masaji's Chinese Poets Series 8: Li Bai (1965, Shueisha)" ▽ "Oobi Koichi's Chinese Poets 6: Li Bai (1982, Shueisha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、盛唐の詩人。中国最大の詩人の1人。字(あざな)は太白(たいはく)、号は青蓮居士(せいれんこじ)。同じ盛唐の杜甫(とほ)とともに「李杜」と並称される。杜甫の「詩聖」、王維(おうい)の「詩仏」に対して、李白は「詩仙」とよばれる。「謫仙人(たくせんにん)」ともあだ名され、後世では、その官名により李翰林(りかんりん)とよばれる。約1050の詩、60余の文が現存する。

［中島敏夫］

生涯

生涯は不明な点が多く、生年をはじめかなりの部分が推測による。家系は隴西郡(ろうせいぐん)成紀県（甘粛(かんしゅく)省秦安県付近）の出。自ら西涼(せいりょう)の武昭王の李暠(りこう)の9世の孫で唐王朝と同宗と称しているが、これは信じがたいとされている。隋(ずい)末に一家が罪によって西域に移ったと思われる。父は西域の豪商だったともいう。生まれたのは西域の砕葉(スイアブ)（現キルギス共和国トクマク付近）、もしくは蜀(しょく)の隆昌(りゅうしょう)県（四川(しせん)省江油県）で、彼の出生前後に家は西域から蜀に帰った。25歳ごろ、蜀を出て長江(ちょうこう／チャンチヤン)〔揚子江(ようすこう)〕を下り、以後生涯を遍歴に送った。

　李白は、幼少より詩文に天才ぶりを発揮したが、剣術や任侠(にんきょう)の世界をも彼は好んだ。また若いときから道教に傾倒して仙界へのあこがれをもち、山中で過ごすことも多かった。彼の詩の幻想性は多くその道教的発想に支えられており、また山中は彼の詩的世界の重要な舞台の一つとなった。出蜀後、洞庭湖あたりから、呉(ご)・越(えつ)（南京(ナンキン)・杭州(こうしゅう)一帯）などに遊び、安陸（湖北省）で元の宰相、許圉師(ぎょし)の孫娘をめとり居を構え、約10年間を送った。その間も、家庭に落ち着くことは少なく、孟浩然(もうこうねん)・元丹丘ら多くの詩人・道士と交わって全国を旅し、足跡はあまねく中国各地に及んだ。その後、任城（山東省）や南陵（安徽(あんき)省）に家を置いた。孔巣父(こうそうほ)らと徂徠(そらい)山に隠棲(いんせい)して「竹渓の六逸」と称されたのは、この任城にいたころのことと思われる。妻の許氏の没後、劉(りゅう)氏、さらに宋(そう)氏をめとり、子供に娘の平陽と息子の伯禽(はくきん)がいた。李白には妻・子供への愛情を吐露する優れた詩があるが、偉大なる詩人かならずしもよき夫・父とはいえなかったようである。

　李白は、唐代詩人中では珍しく科挙の試験を受けていない。彼は自らの才を自負し、自分はかならず重用されて政治的手腕を発揮しうるものと信じていたが、彼の期待に反してその機会は長く訪れなかった。焦慮と絶望のなかにあったとき、その時が訪れた。43歳の李白は都長安に上り、玄宗に召されて歓待を受け、天子側近の翰林供奉(ぐぶ)となった。この1、2年の間が、彼の不遇な生涯における栄光の時期であった。杜甫の「李白一斗　詩百篇、長安市上　酒家に眠る。天子呼び来れども船に上らず、自ら称す　臣は是(こ)れ酒中の仙と」（飲中八仙歌）はそのころの李白の姿を伝えている。しかし、李白の不羈(ふき)の性格は天子側近の人々の讒言(ざんげん)を招き、ついに宮中に身を置くことができなくなり、都を退いた。都を退いた李白は、洛陽(らくよう)で11歳年下の杜甫と出会い、親交を結んだ。2人のつきあいは短かったが、別れたあとも互いの友情は生涯にわたって続いた。

　755年、安禄山(あんろくざん)の乱が起こり、賊軍が長安に侵入したため、玄宗は四川に逃れ、粛宗が即位した。55歳の李白はこのとき廬山(ろざん)（江西省）にいたが、粛宗の弟の永王に招かれて、その軍に加わった。しかし永王は粛宗との反目から反乱軍とされて、討伐を受けた。李白も捕まり一時死罪と決まったが、のち減刑せられて夜郎（貴州省）へ流刑となり、揚子江をさかのぼって三峡まできたとき、さらに赦免にあった。その後、晩年を江南の地に送り、62歳、当塗県（安徽省）県令の李陽冰(りようひょう)のもとで病没した。

［中島敏夫］

詩風

李白の詩は、杜甫の詩が彫琢(ちょうたく)を窮めるのに対し、流れ出ることばがそのまま詩となるといった詩風をもつ。杜甫の五言律詩に対し、楽府(がふ)・七言絶句を得意とする。たとえば「両人対酌して山花開く、一杯一杯又(ま)た一杯」の句などは、規範にとらわれず自由な発想とリズムを駆使したその好例である。また盛唐を代表する詩人としての李白は、人間・時代・自己に対する大いなる気概・自負に燃えてそれらを詩中に詠みこんでいった。たとえば『古風』其(その)一の「大雅久しく作(おこ)らず、我衰えなば竟(つい)に誰(たれ)か陳(の)べん」、『将進酒』の「天の我が材を生ずるは必ず用有らん」などである。だが、その気概・自負は時代が開元（713～741）から天宝（742～755）に移るにつれて、専制独裁のもとで深まる腐敗汚濁の現実に破れていった。「人生　意を得んには　須(す)べからく歓を尽くすべし」（将進酒）と生きる歓(よろこ)びに正面から立ち向かう詩人は、同時に、彼のいう「万古の愁」――生きるがゆえの愁いをつねに心に抱かざるをえなかった。彼は好んで酒・月・山を詠じ、旅情・別離・閨情(けいじょう)を詠むが、彼はそこにその愁いを、ときに格調高く高らかに、ときに心静かにやさしく繰り広げてみせる。李白の詩で人口に膾炙(かいしゃ)したものは多い。「白髪三千丈、愁に縁(よ)りて個(かく)の似(ごと)く長し」（秋浦歌）、「長安一片の月、万戸　衣を擣(う)つの声」（子夜呉歌）、「故人西のかた黄鶴楼を辞し、煙花三月　揚州に下る」〔黄鶴楼にて孟浩然の広陵に之(ゆ)くを送る〕、「蜀道の難(かた)きは青天に上るよりも難し」（蜀道難）、「余に問う何んの意有りてか碧山(へきざん)に住むと。笑って答えず心自(おのづか)ら閑なり」（山中問答）、「刀を抽(ぬ)いて水を断てば水更に流れ、杯を挙げて愁いを消せば愁い更に愁う」（宣州謝朓楼(しゃちょうろう)に校書叔雲に餞別(せんべつ)す）など、よく知られる名句である。そのほか『月下独酌』『独坐(どくざ)敬亭山』『早発白帝城』『贈汪倫(おうりん)』『㶚陵(はりょう)行』『清平調詞』など、傑作は多い。

　李白についての伝説・挿話は他に類のないほど多く、母が身ごもったとき太白星（金星）が懐(ふところ)に入る夢をみたのでその字がつけられたという出生から、流れに映る月影をすくおうとして水に落ちて死んだという伝説のある死に至るまで、彼の数奇にして天才的な生涯を彩っている。彼が長安滞在中、玄宗に召されたとき、泥酔していて、宦官(かんがん)の高力士に靴を履かさせ、たちどころに詩をつくったという話は、なかでも有名である。

　李白の詩に対する評価は、彼の生存中、彼が受けた処遇同様、かならずしも正当な高いものではなかった。中唐の韓愈(かんゆ)が「李杜文章在り、光燄(こうえん)万丈長し」とたたえたのち、さらに宋の欧陽修・蘇軾(そしょく)に至って、詩の最高峰とする見方が定まっていった。

［中島敏夫］

テキスト

李白の詩文のテキストとしては、唐代に魏顥(ぎこう)の編んだ『李翰林集』および李陽冰の『草堂集』などがあったが、いまは伝わらない。現存する古いものは、宋人の重輯(じゅうしゅう)したもので、北宋の楽史(がくし)の編纂(へんさん)したテキストの系統を引く『李翰林集』30巻、および北宋の宋敏求の編纂した『李太白集』30巻がある。東京の静嘉堂(せいかどう)文庫には後者の系統の北宋本がある。注釈本としては、南宋の楊斉賢注、元の蕭士贇(しょうしいん)補注の『分類補注李太白集』と、清(しん)の王琦(おうき)注の『李太白文集』が広く世に行われている。日本においては、寛平(かんぴょう)年間（889～898）の藤原佐世撰(すけよせん)『日本国見在書(げんざいしょ)目録』に「李白詩歌行三巻」が載せられており、また和刻本としては、宋の楊斉賢注、元の蕭士贇補註の『分類補註李太白詩』25巻が1679年（延宝7）に刊行されており、杜甫の詩についで読まれてきた。

［中島敏夫］

『武部利男注『新修中国詩人選集2　李白』（1983・岩波書店）』▽『青木正児著『漢詩大系8　李白』（1965・集英社）』▽『小尾郊一著『中国の詩人6　李白』（1982・集英社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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