Li Bai. Poetry and the Tang Dynasty Research Paper

Li Bai. Poetry and the Tang Dynasty - Research Paper Example The birth of Li was at the point when poetry had the court sponsorship and was a mandatory element of every administrative and public education. At the time of his demise, the whole country was restless and under the turmoil of civil rebellion which had gravely effected the prosperity of a blooming nation and the tone of Li’s poetry. The poetry of Li Bai during the Tang Dynasty is the clear depiction of art, love, romance, loss, might, failure and gratitude. The rise and the fall of the Tang dynasty is an epic story of love, hatred, betrayal, rise and fall of one of the greatest civilizations of the world. The Tang dynasty was established by the Duke of Tang, Li Yuan, who was the victor of the civil war that ended in 617AD and claimed himself by the name of Emperor Gao-Zu. When he became the emperor of China, he not only reunited China but also ruled it efficiently from 617AD to 626AD2. The emperor was then disposed by his son Li Shimin in 626 which resulted in the blood feud among the sons to become the inheritor of the rule and eventually the winner was Li who became the next ruler known as the Emperor Taizong. The rule of the Emperor Taizong is one of the golden ages in the Tang dynasty who helped promote the art and literature across the country3. Through his reformist administration, and love for art and literature, he is still known as one of the greatest rulers of this great civilization. After his death in 649AD, his son Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne who proved to be a very weak ruler. The rule of the Emperor Gaozong was from 649 to 683 making it more than 34 year but the prime ruler during this era was Empress Wu Zetian. Empress Wu was the concubine of the emperor who used her influence and charm over the emperor and got the wife the emperor murdered and promoted herself as the empress4. The rule of Empress Wu is one of the cruelest eras in the history. She sent to exile and got murdered everyone in the entire country who she thought could be a hurdle in her rule as Lewis states: "Through the examination and her own personal choices, Empress Wu promoted several poets of humble birth who themselves became patrons of others from local elites or even poor families."5 However, with old age, the empress was not able to keep herself in control and was disposed in the favor of Emperor Zhongzong in 705AD. Emperor Zhongzong did not love for ling to rule and with his death in 710AD, the throne was taken control of by his spouse Empress Wei. The empress tried to rule like empress Wu but did not last long and was eventually disposed in 712AD and Emperor Xuanzong was placed on the throne. The rule of Emperor Xuanzong is the longest in the Tang dynasty, which lasted from 712AD to 756 AD making it just about 44 years. Emperor Xuanzong was an efficient ruler in the beginning of his career but later he was greatly influenced by the Taoist spirituality which shoed his weak administrative capability and giving rise to many insurgencies across the rule. Of the major insurgency was the An Lushan Rebellion, which also affected the later years Li Bai’s poetry. Not only this, the weakness of Emperor Xuanzong’s rule resulted in the rise of Islamic influence along the Central Asia who became the major influence holders of the silk route. After the Emperor Xuanzong fled the throne during the rebellion, Suzong became the next ruler of China. The