The Formation and Reception of a Literary-Pictorial Persona of Li Bai: Reconsidering the So-Called Li Bai Chanting a Poem on a Stroll 李白行吟圖

Abstract

The so-called Li Bai Chanting a Poem on a Stroll (Fig. 1. 81.1×30.5 cm; Japanese: 李白吟行図; Chinese: 李白行吟圖) by the Southern Song 南宋 (1127–1279) painter, Liang Kai 梁楷 (fl. 12th c.–13th c.), is often reprinted as the illustration for literary or scholarly works about Li Bai 李白 (701–762).1 Indeed, consciously or not, we usually feel comfortable taking the painted figure as Li Bai and accept “chanting a poem on a stroll” as an accurate way to describe the activity represented in the painting. Yet no archival evidence shows that Liang Kai intended to paint Li Bai. This is to say, the Li Bai identity—no matter how widely it is accepted—belongs more to our reception of Li Bai and the painting than to historical fact. This means that the Li Bai identity of the painted figure is subject to debate, and more importantly, raises the question of why the Li Bai identity has been accepted for so long. Moreover, in what ways can this figure’s widely accepted, but actually debatable, identification as Li Bai inspire us to reflect on the reception of Li Bai and his poetry? To date, most studies of the reception of Li Bai and his poetry have focused on how, throughout history, generations of critics have responded to Li Bai’s poetry in writing.2 Art history can inspire us to take another perspective on the