Ri Haku　李白

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Ch: Li Bai (701-62). One of the two most famous poets of the early Tang dynasty along with Du Fu (Jp: *To Ho 杜甫, 712-70) who is depicted in a tradition of imaginary portraits. He used the pseudonym Taibai 太白 as well as the pen-name Hermit Qinglian (Ch: Qinglian Jushi, Jp: Shouren Koji 青蓮居士) Li Bai's biography is sketchy. He was supposedly born in the far west of China and traveled widely as a youth. A legendary carouser, Li was as prolific a drinker as a poet. According to legend he died after falling into a river while drunkenly trying to catch the reflection of the moon. The scene of Li Bai drunk, which derives from Du Fu's poem "Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup" *Inchuu hassen 飲中八仙, was a favorite subject of Chinese and Japanese painters. Even better known is "Li Bai Gazing at a Waterfall," based on his poem on seeing the falls at Mt. Lu (Ch: Lushan Guanputu; Jp: Rozan Kanbaku-zu 廬山観瀑図). The subject of a scholar gazing at a waterfall was painted frequently from the Southern Song period, but it was in the Japanese Zen 禅 communities, where Li Bai's poetry was admired and where Mt. Lu was considered a favorite pilgrimage spot, that it was identified as Li Haku. Notable paintings include works by Chuuan Shinkou 仲安真康 (mid-15c; Drucker collction.) and Ogata Kourin 尾形光琳 (1658-1716). The theme was popular in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 where mitate versions (*mitate-e 見立絵) often feature the poet Ono no Komachi 小野小町 (see *nanakomachi 七小町) in the role of Li Bai.

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