Bai Juyi

Bai Juyi
Portrait of Bai Juyi by Chen Hongshou
Born	772 Xinzheng, Henan, China
Died	846 (aged 73–74) Xiangshan Temple, Longmen (Luoyang), Henan, China
Occupation	Musician, poet, politician
Children	Bai Acui (son)
Relatives	Bai Huang (grandfather) Bai Jigeng
Chinese name
Chinese	白居易
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bái Jūyì (col.) Bó Jūyì (lit.) Wade–Giles Pai2 Chü1-i4 (col.) Po2 Chü1-i4 (lit.) IPA [pǎɪ tɕý.î] (col.) [pwǒ tɕý.î]  (lit.) Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Baahk Gēui-yih Jyutping Baak6 Geoi1-ji6 IPA [pak̚˨ kɵɥ˥.ji˨] Southern Min Tâi-lô Pe̍h Ku-ī (col.) Pi̍k Ku-ī (lit.) Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Bɐk Kjwo-jieC
Letian
Traditional Chinese	樂天
Simplified Chinese	乐天
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lètiān Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lok6 Tin1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lo̍k-thian Tâi-lô Lo̍k-thian
Xiangshan Jushi
Chinese	香山居士
Literal meaning	Householder of Mount Xiang
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiāngshān Jūshì Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Hoeng1 Saan1 Geoi1 Si6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hiong-san Ku-sū Tâi-lô Hiong-san Ku-sū
Korean name
Hangul	백거이
Hanja	白居易
Transcriptions McCune–Reischauer Paek Kŏi
Japanese name
Kanji	白居易
Hiragana	はく きょい
Transcriptions Romanization Haku Kyo'i

Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; Chinese: 白居易; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician during the Tang dynasty. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as governor of three different provinces. He achieved fame as a writer of verse in a low-key, near vernacular style that was popular throughout medieval East Asia.^[1]

Bai was also influential in the historical development of Japanese literature, where he is better known by the on'yomi reading of his courtesy name, Haku Rakuten (shinjitai: 白楽天).^[2] His younger brother Bai Xingjian was a short story writer.

Among his most famous works are the long narrative poems "Chang Hen Ge" ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow"), which tells the story of Yang Guifei, and "Pipa xing" ("Song of the Pipa").