Li Ho was a brilliant Chinese poet (living in famous T'ang dynasty) whose untimely death at the age of 26 ended what might have become one of China's greatest poetic careers. Anyway, he is mentioned together with great T'ang poets like Li T'ai-po (also known as Li Bai) - the intoxicated "genius" - and Tu Fu (Du Fu) - the "saint"!:

Literary legend describes him as a man of kuei-ts'ai (about: "devilish talent", "demoniacal spirit") who composed his haunting verses by jotting down single lines on small slips of paper while on horseback, dropping the slips into an embroidered black bag, and assembling a finished poem each evening. Composing verse from the early age of seven, Li Ho promised to do well on the literary examinations necessary for an official career. Unfortunately, the poet was excluded from the examinations by a minor technicality; his resulting disappointment was said to have triggered the poor health that led to his death a few years later. Li Ho's verse is characterized by its vivid imagery, odd diction, striking juxtapositions, and unrelieved pessimism. Not at all common in Chinese poetry's 'concrete' language, Li not seldom uses daring and 'dark' metaphors.

Although a poet well-known during Chinese history, not one single piece of his work had been included in famous "300 T'ang Poems" (T'ang Shih San-Pai Shou).

I was touched from the very first moment hearing his poetry with its almost 'modern' sound, and 'seeing' this young nobleman moving along on his little horse, followed by the boy servant, spending his days in sickness and misery ...