Spring Flowers Autumn Moon

<p>From prince to prisoner Li Yu (937-978) ruled briefly over his family's Southern Tang kingdom before he was taken prisoner by the powerful and warlike Northern Song dynasty. This vivid arc from rule to ruin is reflected in his poetry. Ineffectual as a ruler he loved and celebrated court life with its parties dancing drinking and trysts. Later having lost his kingdom he came to know sorrow homesickness and the need to reconcile his melancholy with the passage of seasons and the fragility of life.</p>