Li He | |
|---|---|
李賀 | |
 Li He, as depicted in the 1743 book Wanxiaotang Zhuzhuang Huazhuan (晩笑堂竹荘畫傳). | |
| Born | 790/791 |
| Died | 816 (aged 25–26) 817 (aged 25–26) Yiyang County, Henan, China |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 李賀 |
| Simplified Chinese | 李贺 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lǐ Hè |
| Wade–Giles | Li3 Ho4 |
| Courtesy name: Changji | |
| Traditional Chinese | 長吉 |
| Simplified Chinese | 长吉 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Chángjí |
| Nickname: Shigui | |
| Traditional Chinese | 詩鬼 |
| Simplified Chinese | 诗鬼 |
| Literal meaning | Poetry Devil |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Shīguǐ |
| Nickname: Guicai | |
| Chinese | 鬼才 |
| Literal meaning | Devilish Talent |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Guǐcái |
Li He (c. 790–791 – c. 816–817) was a Chinese poet of the mid-Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Changji, and he is also known as Guicai and Shigui.
He was prevented from taking the imperial examination due to a naming taboo. He died very young, and was noted for his sickly appearance.
He was a diligent poet, going out on journeys during the day and, when a line of poetry came to him, jotting it down, and completing the poems when he arrived home in the evening. His poems famously explored ghostly, supernatural and fantastic themes.
His popularity and place in the Chinese literary canon has fluctuated throughout the centuries. His idiosyncratic style of poetry was frequently imitated in China until the Qing dynasty. During this era, the popularity of his poetry suffered from a change in literary tastes, with his works notably being excluded from the influential Three Hundred Tang Poems, but there was a revival of interest in him in the twentieth century. He was among the Tang poets most admired by Mao Zedong.