Li Bai was born in 701. He was also given the name "Taibai". The name meant "Venus" (太白金星) in ancient Chinese. Legend says that before Li Bai was born, his mother dreamed that Venus fell into her arms. Some people believed that Li Bai was a god.
Li Bai was not a very hard-working student when he was young. He often skipped school. One day when he was walking by the river, he saw an old woman. She was working on a large piece of iron (铁). He asked, "What are you doing?" She said. "I'm making a needle (针). " "But how can you make a large piece of iron into a needle?" She replied. "I must work hard every day. " Li Bai suddenly understood the importance of hard work, and he started to work hard at school.
Li Bai loved nature, especially big mountains and rivers. He traveled to lots of beautiful mountains and wrote lots of poems about them. He also wrote a lot about the moon. These poems are loved by many people. For example, Thoughts on a Tranquil Night (静夜思).
Li Bai died at the age of 61. There is a story about his death. One night, Li Bai was drinking on a boat on a river. He saw the moon in the river, and he jumped into the water. Legend says that he became a large bird and flew away.
