Li Bai

Chinese poet

Medieval influential 27 sayings

Sayings by Li Bai

Beneath the blossoms with a pot of wine, No friends at hand, so I poured alone; I raised my cup to invite the moon, Turned to my shadow, and we became three.

c. 701-762 CE — From the poem 'Drinking Alone by Moonlight'.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The birds have vanished into the sky and now the last cloud drains away. We sit together the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains.

c. 701-762 CE — From the poem 'Zazen on Ching-t'ing Mountain' or 'Alone Looking At The Mountain', expressing a profo…
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The world is like a great empty dream.

c. 701-762 CE — From a poem, reflecting a transient and illusory view of existence.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I lift my goblet to melt away sorrow, but sorrow continues in sorrow.

c. 701-762 CE — From a poem, expressing the futility of escaping sorrow through drink.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Flying waters descending straight three thousand feet, Till I think the Milky Way has tumbled from the ninth height of Heaven.

c. 701-762 CE — From a poem describing a waterfall, 'Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu'.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Heaven is high, Earth Wide. Bitter between them flies my sorrow.

c. 750 CE — From 'A Homily on Ideals in Life, Uttered in Springtime on Rising from a Drunken Slumber'.
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When the hunter sets traps only for rabbits, tigers and dragons are left uncaught.

c. 701-762 CE — From a poem, a metaphor about limited perception or ambition.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The birds have vanished into the sky, and now the last cloud drains away.

circa 750 — From the poem '独坐敬亭山' (Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain), describing solitude.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I wake with the moon on my pillow—it’s frost, I suppose.

circa 726 — From '静夜思' (Thoughts on a Quiet Night), a famous but oddly phrased line about moonlight.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The earth is the cup of the river, and heaven the moon’s mirror.

circa 740 — From '把酒问月' (Drinking Alone Under the Moon), a surreal cosmic image.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I laugh wildly when leaving home—am I not one of those men?

742 — From '南陵别儿童入京' (Parting from My Children at Nanling), an eccentric boast.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

My white hair stretches thirty thousand feet—such is the length of my sorrow!

circa 750 — From '秋浦歌' (Songs of Qiupu), an exaggerated lament.
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I could have been a great immortal, but I loved wine too much.

unknown — Attributed to Li Bai in folklore; likely apocryphal but reflects his reputation.
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The monkeys scream on both banks—it’s unbearable!

759 — From '下江陵' (Descending to Jiangling), an oddly specific complaint.
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I dreamt I wandered to the moon—it was cold and wet.

745 — From '梦游天姥吟留别' (Dreaming of Wandering to Tianmu Mountain), a surreal dream sequence.
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I’d rather drink a gallon of wine than read ten thousand books.

unknown — Attributed in folklore; reflects his hedonistic persona.
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The moon follows me like an old friend.

circa 740 — From '月下独酌' (Drinking Alone Under the Moon), personifying the moon.
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You ask for what reason I stay on the green mountain, I smile, but do not answer, my heart is at leisure. Peach blossom is carried far off by flowing water, Apart, I have heaven and earth in the human world.

c. 701-762 AD (original composition) — From the poem 'Question and Answer in the Mountains', commonly attributed
Humorous Unverifiable

The world is like a great empty dream. Why should one toil away one's life?

c. 701-762 AD (original composition) — From the poem 'A Song of Wine', commonly attributed
Humorous Unverifiable

Since Life is but a Dream, Why toil to no avail?

c. 701-762 AD (original composition) — From the poem 'A Song of Wine', commonly attributed
Humorous Unverifiable