Po Chü-i lived from AD 772–846, rising from humble beginnings to high government office. Although some of his most famous poems are those of social and moral protest, many of his finest are private and meditative; he was a recluse at heart and spent many years in relative solitude. He is regarded by many Chinese as their greatest poet, but his poems have been known in the West only through scattered versions by Arthur Waley and others.

David Hinton brings scholarship and a poet’s instinct to the task of translation, as well as great experience in translating classical Chinese poets. With this book Hinton completes his series of extensive selections from the three great poets of the T’ang Dynasty – Li Po, Tu Fu and Po Chü-i.