Liu Ling (poet)

Little information survives about his family background, though he is described in historical sources as short and unattractive, with a dissipated appearance.

Liu Ling was born in the state of Pei of the Western Jin dynasty (266–316 CE), which is now the Suzhou of Anhui province.

[1] One of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Liu Ling was a Taoist who retreated to the countryside in order to pursue a spontaneous and natural existence that would have been impossible under the tight constraints of the Imperial court.

[1] An oft-quoted folk tale about Liu Ling claims that he was followed at all times by a servant bearing a bottle of wine and a shovel, who was equally prepared to offer him wine at a moment's notice or bury him if he fell over dead.

Liu Ling and his beliefs about drinking are mentioned in CHAPTER XXXVI of Jack London's autobiographical novel John Barleycorn.

The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove depicted in the Long Corridor , one of whom is Liu Ling