Poets in the Spotlight: When the Stars of Poetry Shine

[The poet’s life journey] + [The background and commentary on the poetry] + [On-screen comments from people of the past and present] + [Anecdotes about poets and their poems] + [Striving for accuracy]

Lin Qiye, a high school Chinese teacher, was chosen by the sky screen. Her video series, “When the Stars of the Poetry World Shine,” can be viewed on the sky screen by people from every era and parallel world. Each episode introduces one poet, prompting on-screen comments from people both ancient and modern. Starting with Li Bai, the series will cover all the famous poets of the Tang dynasty, including Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Wang Wei, the Four Eminent Poets of the Early Tang, He Zhizhang, Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Yuan Zhen, Liu Yuxi, Liu Zongyuan, Du Mu, and Li Shangyin.

And then there are the lesser-known Tang poets, as well as poets from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Jin and Liao dynasties, and even earlier eras. There could be a lot, or just a little.

The first episode is about Li Bai. I may examine him in great detail and write just a tiny bit too much. The initial plan is around 100,000 words, then another ten or twenty poets on a similar scale to Li Bai, which would bring it to a million words. That’s the dream, anyway. Reality is much harsher. Writing this kind of thing quickly would basically mean making things up, so I’ll be slow, but I don’t think I’ll stop.

I hope I can serve you carefully prepared dishes here that may not taste all that good, but are sure to be nutritious and beneficial, nourishing our hearts and spirits together. I hope I can keep this going for a long time, and that we can understand one another and grow together. Thank you.