李太白

北海國使臣進貢長安，以番文寫成之《太平表》犯難，若大唐朝內無人能解讀此表，即遣兵進犯。群臣庸碌，唐明皇想起夢見異士李白之事，乃命大臣賀知章召其上殿。李白果能解讀《太平表》，明皇大悅設宴酬謝。李白被楊貴妃召至百花亭伴飲，酒酣之間寫成《清平調三章》。其時東平郡王安祿山叛變，攻陷長安，明皇率眾往成都避難，兵困馬嵬坡，楊貴妃自盡以平息軍譁。安祿山為收民心，迫李白効命，更特意命歌伎演出《清平調三章》。李白不從，安祿山遂獻李白予永王璘，並誣稱李白變節。後唐將郭子儀剿滅叛軍，李白被誣告變節獲罪，得郭氏營救，改判流放夜郎。李白含冤莫白，以屈原自比，假托邀月共飲，投水自盡。賀知章及孟浩然等人忙把李白救起，惜已返魂乏術。

Li Taibai

An envoy from the state of Beihai arrives at Chang’an, the capital of China during the Tang dynasty. Bearing tribute and a letter written in their native language, the envoy relays the message that Beihai troops will invade China if no one in the country can read the letter. None of the incompetent ministers knows what to do. The emperor orders minister He Zhizhang to summon Li Bai, a person of rare talent he once dreamt of. To the emperor’s delight,Li can indeed decipher the document, and is rewarded with a banquet. Li is called to the Pavilion of Flowers by Imperial Concubine Yang for a drink, which results in three much-celebrated stanzas of poem written while he is a little drunk.

The prince of Dongping, An Lushan, rebels and seizes Chang’an. The emperor flees to Chengdu with his retinue. At Maweipo, the emperor’s troops threaten mutiny and force Yang to commit suicide. To win support from the people, An tries to make Li serve him. An also has singers perform the three stanzas Liwrote for Yang. When Li refuses to comply, An offers him to the rebellious Prince Lin, and then claims thatLi has defected. Later, when Tang General Guo defeats Lin’s forces,Li is charged with treason. Thanks toGuo’s intervention, Li’s sentence is mitigated to exile in Yelang. Being unable to clear his name, Licompares himself to Qu Yuan, an ancient patriot who was exiled for his loyalty. Inviting the reflection of the moon in a river to drink with him, he drowns himself. Poets He Zhizhang and Meng Haoran hurry to save Li, but in vain.