Li Bai 李白 “A Tranquil Night” 静夜思

床前明月光，

疑是地上霜。

举头望明月，

低头思故乡。

Before my bed a pool of light,

Is it hoarfrost upon the ground?

Eyes raised, I see the moon so bright;

Head bent, in homesickness I'm drowned.

This poem （静夜思）is from the Chinese Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai (701-762). He is known as one of the two greatest Chinese poets ever, along with Du Fu. His Taoist beliefs influence his great imagery in his 1,100 poems that still exist today. Poet He Zhizhang called Li Bai the "Transcendent dismissed from Heaven". This is because he lived a very carefree life, with a great love for alcohol. His nickname 詩仙 “Poem-God", which is true because of his amazing ability of communicating his feelings to the reader. He is very free-spirited and uses the characters wondrously. Among the common people of China, Li Bai is unquestionably the most beloved figure in Chinese poetry.

Unfortunately, since the start of the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature in 1901 - not one winner has been Chinese. The Swedish Academy decides who gets the prize each year. They have received a lot of criticism in recent years because of their controversial decisions. Since I have begun to gain much respect for the Chinese characters and it's uniqueness, I now am frustrated to find out that not one winner of this prize is Chinese. How can we disregard this language? Just because the meanings are deep and difficult for the Latin languages to adhere to doesn't mean that it can't be praised. Nearly all laureates have been European! This is not fair - I officially will never eat Swedish meatballs again!