On Reclusion Complex and Its Image in LI E's Poems

The poet LI E, a master of late Zhejiang School in Qing Dynasty, went in opposite directions with main-stream culture in the flourishing period of Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong. He was not in pursuit of any official post and indifferent to politics, but longed for interesting life in wild mountains and was keen on traveling. In his poems, he showed his alienation and cultural spirit of seclusion. In images specifically, what he described mostly were green mountains, clear water, and the cold moonlight, which he hoped could remove his anxieties and symbolize his indifference to official affairs and thirst for relief of his soul.