772-846
Poet

Early Life and Bureaucratic Career. A native of Weinan, Shanxi Province, Bai Juyi grew up during a period of military chaos and fled from his hometown when he was twelve. He was recognized as a literary prodigy after he wrote his "Grass on an Ancient Plain" at fifteen. He earned his jinshi (presented scholar) title by passing the official examinations for the imperial bureaucracy in 800 and was appointed jiaoshulang (collator of texts) two years later. In 806 he and his good friend and fellow poet Yuan Zhen wrote seventy-five essays suggesting solutions to social problems. As a result, in 807 Bai was appointed to membership in the prestigious Hanlin Academy in the Tang capital of Chang'an. The following year he was named zuoshiyi (commissioner to the left). In 813, however, the prime minister was assassinated, and Bai offended the court with his proposal for how to deal...