Here is a personal note from Lata Iyer presenting us the poetry of Li Bai who belonged to the Tang Dynasty: “My knowledge of the Chinese language is frugal. It is restricted to the technical aspects of my professional work in China where I conduct Sustainability Assessments as a freelance consultant. I have been lucky to have travelled extensively in China. I have been a student of Chinese culture and its multitudinous aspects. I find this country, its language, the culture, its thoughts and philosophy extremely fascinating and deep. My travels to the various parts of China especially in the ancient historical regions of Beijing, Xian (Shanxi), Inner Mongolia, Shenyang (capital of the erstwhile Manchuria region and the ancient capital city of the Qings), and the ancient city of Pingyao have made me aware of the long history of this country and its rich outputs. As someone who loves poetry, I was fascinated with the place occupied by poetry in the Chinese social landscape. This small compilation has been made as a lover of Chinese poetry rather than as a scholar or literary expert. Instead of confusing the reader with the names of several poets, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a single poet. I can think of no better name than Li Bai or Li Po.”

We are thankful to Lata for this beautiful piece of work, which includes a fairly detailed introduction to Li Bai and English rendering of his several poetic compositions. We shall serialize these in the next few instalments—Li Bai "the god dismissed from the Heaven".

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