Li Bo's Flight of the Great Peng Bird: The Banished Immortal's Pursuit of Glory and Emptiness

Abstract: This paper tells the story of the life of the renowned Chinese poet, Li Bo (李白 701-762) tracing his poetic artistry along with his Daoist spiritual quest in. It examines two of his thousand poems, both inspired by the Great Peng Bird from the ancient text of the Zhuangzi 赶子. The first is a long elaborate rhapsody written in his mid-twenties showing his boundless confidence about achieving greatness; the other is a six-line retrospect written on his deathbed lamenting his misfortune of not achieving what he had thought he would in his youth. However, both of these poems show Li's failure to reach his spiritual goal of finding peace and quiescence. Holding on to his great literary gift, Li never could let go of his attachment to fame.