THE PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION OF
THE POETIC WORKS OF LI TAI-PO
by
MAGISTRATE OF TANG-TU, HSUAN-CHOU, OF
THE TANG DYNASTY
Li Po, surnamed Tai-po, was a man of Cheng-chi of Lunghsi and a descendant in the ninth generation from Kao, who was the king Wu-chao of the Liang state.
His early ancestors, one after another, wearing the gem and girdle, 2 were possessed of preeimence and re- nown. Later one Li, though he had done no wrong, was exiled and dwelt in the land of Chiao-chi, where he changed his names. The five generations from Chiung- shan to the emperor Shun were in the peasantry; and so were the Li's, and they did not shine greatly. Which is a thing to be lamented.
In the beginning of the Shen-Iung era 3 the family es- caped and returned to Shuh. Our "Po-yang" 4 was born,
- Li Yang-ping, Li Po's kinsman, and a calligrapher of note,
brought out the poet's works in 762.
2 "Wearing gem and girdle" implies holding governmental office.
3 The Shen-lung era covers the years 705 and 706. The state- ment here is obviously a mistake since by this time Li Po was already a boy of four or five. The New Book of Tang incor- porates this mistake.
4 Po Yang. The surname of Laotzu, the founder of Taoism, who was born in 604 b. c. miraculously from the left side of the mother. And at his birth he pointed to a plum tree. Here Li Yang-ping alludes to Li Po metaphorically. [199]
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