The Complete Works of Li Bai (2 Volumes)

Li BaiWorld Affairs Press Co., Ltd. · ChinaJun 2025

Rating 4.6
Word count
292K words
Chapters
36
ISBN
9787501265503

Tags

Classical Poetry Collected WorksLandscape JourneyPoetic RomanceRomanticismBold and FreeAncient StyleHistorical ReflectionDaoist QuestHigh TangMusical Rhythm

Summary

The Complete Works of Li Bai restores the original appearance of the Song dynasty master copy, with not a single character deleted.

In simplified Chinese, horizontal typesetting, with pronunciation, meaning, and allusion notes—an unobstructed reading experience that brings the authentic Complete Works of Li Bai to a general audience.

Zeng Gong, one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song, examined and arranged the order and annotated the travels of Li Bai's life.

21 thematic categories, 1001 poems, collected commentary from successive dynasties, and in-depth appreciation.

An appendix supplies 67 prose and verse pieces not included in the Song Shu edition.

Li Bai left behind more than a thousand prose and verse pieces in his life; the Li Taibai Collected Works edited and established by Song Minqiu and Zeng Gong is the earliest complete collection of Li Bai's works and the master copy for all editions.

This book has been collated, revised, and expanded from that master copy, and supplements the 67 Li Bai poems and ci not included in the "Shu edition," making it a complete collection of Li Bai's extant prose and verse. In editing, apart from changing vertical traditional characters to horizontal simplified characters, the original appearance of the base text has been retained. For example, errors and variant characters appearing in the original edition are kept as they are, but notes are supplied at those points indicating the relevant circumstances. In addition, all of Zeng Gong's annotations on Li Bai's travels beneath the poem titles are retained.

The book also compiles numerous comments on Li Bai's poetry from successive dynasties and places them after the relevant poems, in the hope of helping readers appreciate Li Bai's works more comprehensively and deeply.

Editor's review

Published by World Affairs Press, this edition of The Complete Works of Li Bai (2 Volumes) gathers over a thousand extant poems and several dozen prose pieces, making it one of the more comprehensive collections of Li Bai's work available today. The book combines chronological and genre-based organization, preserving the timeline of Li Bai's creative output while maintaining clarity in poetic form classification. From early works such as "Visiting the Daoist Priest on Mount Dai and Finding Him Absent" to his final poem "Song on the Road," readers can trace the complete arc of this genius poet's life and artistic evolution.

Particularly noteworthy is this edition's balanced approach to annotation—it provides necessary explanations of literary allusions and glosses on difficult words while avoiding over-interpretation that might interfere with the poetic imagery. The editorial team consulted Qing dynasty scholar Wang Qi's annotated edition and modern academic research, carefully collating disputed passages and briefly noting textual variants in the annotations. The lengthy introduction systematically surveys the history of Li Bai scholarship, offering valuable help in understanding the reception of his poetry.

As a reading edition, the book's greatest value lies in balancing completeness with readability. Compared to scholarly complete works, it strips away cumbersome textual criticism; compared to popular anthologies, it retains the core elements of a professional edition. The binding uses thread-sewn adhesive binding with appropriately weighted paper, suitable for repeated browsing. For readers who want to read Li Bai systematically rather than encountering only famous pieces, this edition offers just the right balance.

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Reading tips

  1. Begin with the introduction to understand the periods of Li Bai's life and his artistic characteristics
  2. Read in chronological order to sense the trajectory of the poet's stylistic evolution
  3. Pair with a historical atlas of the Tang dynasty to better appreciate the spatial dimension of his travel poems

About the publisher

World Affairs Press Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 1934

World Affairs Press Co., Ltd. is known for publishing on international affairs and China's diplomacy, and, drawing on the legacy of the magazine World Affairs, has developed popular lists in world history, geography, and the humanities. Its catalogue includes world history and history titles such as The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia and The Persians: The Age of the Great Kings, alongside classical Chinese poetry in The Complete Works of Li Bai, suspense and mystery fiction such as The Murderer on the Road, social novels and essays such as Princess Chestnut's Summer, and general-interest works on etiquette and Jewish education. Its authors range from the classical poet Li Bai to overseas history writers such as Peter Hopkirk and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, as well as Xu Lin, Hu Jie, and Jiliang, reflecting a publishing profile that combines classic texts, translated foreign works, and popular reading.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 李白全集 上
  3. 出版说明
  4. 第一卷
  5. 第二卷 歌诗五十九首
  6. 第三卷 歌诗三十一首
  7. 第四卷 歌诗四十首
  8. 第五卷 歌诗五十六首
  9. 第六卷 歌诗三十三首
  10. 第七卷 歌诗六十八首
  11. 第八卷 歌诗四十一首
  12. 第九卷 歌诗三十四首
  13. 第十卷 歌诗二十九首
  14. 第十一卷 歌诗三十二首
  15. 第十二卷 歌诗四十首
  16. 第十三卷 歌诗三十六首
  17. 李白全集 下
  18. 第十四卷 歌诗三十五首
  19. 第十五卷 歌诗四十八首
  20. 第十六卷 歌诗三十八首
  21. 第十七卷 歌诗三十首
  22. 第十八卷 歌诗四十首
  23. 第十九卷 歌诗三十六首
  24. 第二十卷 歌诗六十一首
  25. 第二十一卷 歌诗四十七首
  26. 第二十二卷 歌诗四十五首
  27. 第二十三卷 歌诗五十三首
  28. 第二十四卷 歌诗六十二首
  29. 第二十五卷
  30. 第二十六卷
  31. 第二十七卷
  32. 第二十八卷
  33. 第二十九卷
  34. 第三十卷
  35. 《李太白文集》后序
  36. 附录 宋蜀本补遗

FAQ

Does this edition include all of Li Bai's works? This book collects Li Bai's extant poems and prose as recognized by current scholarship, including some works of disputed authenticity that have been widely circulated historically, making it the closest thing to a "complete works" in general circulation.
Are the annotations in classical or vernacular Chinese? The annotations are primarily in modern Chinese, with concise explanations of literary allusions and difficult characters. Some important textual variants include classical collation notes, but these are limited.
What distinguishes this edition from others? This book achieves a good balance between scholarship and accessibility, with clear organization and durable binding, suitable for long-term collection and reading.

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About the author

Li Bai Author · China

Li Bai, the leading figure of Tang-dynasty Romantic poetry, styled Taibai and known as the Green Lotus Lay Buddhist, was later honored as the "Poet Immortal." His ancestral home was Chengji in Longxi, and he lived in Shu as a youth before leaving at twenty-five to travel widely. In the early Tianbao era he was summoned to the capital as a Hanlin Attendant and later sent away with a gift of gold. During the An Lushan Rebellion he was implicated for joining the staff of Prince Li Lin of Yong, sentenced to exile in Yelang, and pardoned en route; in his later years he drifted through the southeast and died in Dangtu in the first year of Baoying. This library holds thirty-nine of his works, including the "Hard Is the Road" series and the two-volume complete works. His poetry is bold, free, and extraordinarily imaginative, often voicing the hardships of travel and reflections on life. He is paired with Du Fu as "Li and Du," and his collection has come down to us as the Li Taibai Collection.