Bo Juyi

Bo Juyi

 or Po Chü-i

(born 772, Xinzheng, China—died 846, Luoyang) Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He began composing poetry at age 5, and at age 28 he passed the examinations for the Chinese civil service. He rose steadily in official life and became the informal leader of a group of poets who rejected the courtly style of the time, believing that poetry should have a moral and social purpose. His satirical ballads and poems of social protest often took the form of free verse based on old folk ballads. He was revered in both China and Japan, where his poems, notably the “Song of Everlasting Sorrow,” became material for other literary works.