Bai Juyi, courtesy name Letian, originated from Taiyuan before his family relocated to Xiapi and later Xiagui. During the Zhenyuan era, he successfully passed the imperial examinations and attained his Advanced Scholar (Jinshi) degree, subsequently serving as an imperial collator. In the early Yuanhe era, he excelled in the special imperial decrees examination and was appointed as a Gentleman for Rehearsing Literature and Left Remembrancer. Because of his outspoken memorials remonstrating against court policies, he fell out of imperial favor and suffered demotion, serving as Vice Prefect of Jiangzhou and later Prefect of Zhongzhou. Following the ascension of Emperor Muzong, he was recalled to the capital and held various prestigious administrative offices, including Imperial Censor and Director of the Ministry of Justice, as well as serving as Prefect of Hangzhou and Suzhou. In his later years, he held sinecure posts in the Eastern Capital of Luoyang, frequently residing near Longmen where he adopted the art name Xiangshan Jushi, alongside his sobriquet Drunken Chant Master. He retired with the distinguished senior rank of Minister of Justice and passed away during the Huichang era at the age of seventy-five, receiving the posthumous title Wen.
As a leading architect of the New Yuefu movement alongside Yuan Zhen, Bai Juyi championed a revolutionary literary philosophy that demanded poetry serve a utilitarian and didactic function for society and governance, famously declaring that literature should be written for the sake of actual events and real concerns. His poetic style spanned three distinct categories: satirical ballads intended to reform governance, lyrical and reflective verses on personal melancholy, and lighthearted humorous compositions. His verse is celebrated for its extraordinary clarity and accessibility, famously said to be easily understood by elderly market women, yet containing profound emotional resonance. Among his most celebrated masterworks are the haunting narrative epic Song of Everlasting Regret and the deeply moving descriptive poem The Song of the Pipa, both of which cemented his enduring canonical stature.
Bai Juyi's inner existential universe was shaped by a fluid synthesis of Confucian public duty, Daoist naturalism, and Chan Buddhist detachment. During his periods of political prominence and bureaucratic service, he steadfastly maintained a Confucian commitment to benevolent governance, empathetic concern for the impoverished peasantry, and fearless remonstrance against court corruption. Conversely, when exiled or disillusioned by factional politics within the capital, he sought spiritual refuge in Daoist reclusion, finding serene solace in wine, landscape appreciation, and poetic exchanges with kindred spirits such as Liu Yuxixi. His later life at Xiangshan reflected a profound Chan Buddhist equanimity, balancing worldly retirement with contemplative self-awareness and gentle amusement.
Bai Juyi's extensive literary output was meticulously organized during his lifetime, encompassing anthologies such as the Changqing Collection alongside supplementary volumes, preserving nearly forty scrolls of poetry that became fundamental texts for later scholars. Throughout imperial Chinese literary history, critics consistently ranked him among the supreme luminaries of the Tang dynasty alongside Li Bai and Du Fu. His international reception in modern Sinology has been remarkably robust, with his verse translated extensively into Western languages, captivating readers worldwide with its lucid aesthetic beauty, profound psychological insight, and timeless human empathy.