A Dawn Departure in the City of Bai Di

In the spring of 759 A.D. (the second year of Qianyuan reign of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty), Li Bai exiled Yelang because of the Yongwang Li Lin case, and rushed to the place where he was banished by way of Sichuan. When he arrived at Baidi City, he suddenly received the news of the pardon. He was very pleasantly surprised, and then he took a boat east to Jiangling​. This poem was written when the boat arrived in Jiangling, so the title of the poem is “Xiajiangling”.

The predecessors once believed that this poem was written by Li Bai when he was out of Shu. However, according to the poetic meaning of “A Thousand Miles of Jiangling Returned in One Day”, Li Bai once went to the Three Gorges from Jiangling, so this poem should be written when he returned.