Dance drama Li Bai. [Photo/chncpa.org]

Han Baoquan, the director of the drama, said he had long been mulling over the question "What extraordinary life experiences on earth did Li Bai have that made him an immortal poet?" and it was this question that led to the creation of this drama.

"I want to cast aside all the praise he enjoys and recreate a Li Bai who is flesh and blood. He is a man struggling between sense and sensibility, aspiring to be a standout in officialdom as well as entertaining the desire to retire from it. On the one hand, he is a nonconformist rapt with wine and poetry," Han said in an interview.

"On the other, he has to conform to what he disdains so as to realize his dream as a scholar. All in all, he has lived up to the reputation as a 'Poetic Genius', always romantic and optimistic."