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Li Bai has generally been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's 'golden age' of poetry. Around a thousand existing poems are attributed to him, but the authenticity of many of these is uncertain. Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems'.<br/><br/> Many of the Classical Chinese poets were associated with drinking wine, or more precisely, alcoholic beverages. In fact, Li Bai was part of the group of Chinese scholars during his time in Chang'an, called the 'Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup', as mentioned in a poem by fellow poet Du Fu. However, Li Bai is of special note in this respect. As Burton Watson put it, 'nearly all Chinese poets celebrate the joys of wine, but none so tirelessly and with such a note of genuine conviction as Li Bai'. This lifestyle may have given rise to the story that Li Bai drowned after falling from his boat when he tried to embrace the reflection of the moon in the Yangtze River while intoxicated.
Liu Zongyuan was a Chinese writer who lived in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. Liu was born in present-day Yongji, Shanxi. Along with Han Yu, he was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement. He was traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song.
Han Yu (768–824), born in Nanyang, Henan, China, was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet, during the Tang dynasty. The Indiana Companion calls him 'comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe' for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition. He stood for strong central authority in politics and orthodoxy in cultural matters. He is also among China's finest prose writers, second only to Sima Qian, and first among the 'Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song'. Song Dynasty poet Su Shi praised Han Yu recording that he had written prose which 'raised the standards after eight dynasties of literary weaknesses'.
Meng​ Jiao​ (Meng Chiao) was a poet of the Tang Dynasty. As a result of failing to pass even the first stage of the examination system, Meng Jiao was doomed to a life of poverty and adversity. However, this did not prevent his success as a poet. He was part of the circle centred on Tang Dynasty poet Han Yu. His poetry, often based upon the themes of poverty and cold, is typified by the strong - and sometimes shocking - imagery advocated by Han Yu. Two of his poems are included in the classical anthology 'Three Hundred Tang Poems', one of which, 'Youzi yin', 'The Song of a Wanderer', is among the most famous Classical Chinese poems.
Jia Dao was a Chinese poet active during the Tang Dynasty. He was born near modern Beijing; after a period as a Buddhist monk, he went to Chang'an. He became one of Han Yu's disciples, but failed the jinshi exam several times. He wrote both discursive gushi and lyric jintishi. His works were criticised as 'thin' by Su Shi, and some other commentators have considered them limited and artificial.
The Eight Immortals (Chinese: Baxian; Pa-hsien) are a group of legendary 'xian' (immortals; transcendents; fairies) in Chinese mythology. Each Immortal's power can give life or destroy evil. Most of them are said to have been born in the Tang Dynasty or Song Dynasty. They are revered in Daoism (Taoism) and are also a popular element in secular Chinese culture. They are said to live on a group of five islands in the Bohai Sea which includes Penglai Mountain-Island. The Immortals are:<br/><br/> 1. Immortal Woman He (He Xiangu)<br/><br/> 2. Royal Uncle Cao (Cao Guojiu)<br/><br/> 3. Iron-Crutch Li (Tieguai Li)<br/><br/> 4. Lan Caihe<br/><br/> 5. Lu Dongbin, (leader) 6. Philosopher Han Xiang (Han Xiang Zi)<br/><br/> 7. Elder Zhang Guo (Zhang Guo Lao)<br/><br/> 8. Han Zhongli (Zhongli Quan)<br/><br/> In literature before the 1970s, they were sometimes translated as the Eight Genies. First described in the Yuan Dynasty, they were probably named after the Eight Immortal Scholars of the Han.