Li Bai (701-762 CE) was born in Szechuan, but travelled widely through China. In his 40’s he was appointed to a high academic post by the emperor. Although he was twice exiled as a consequence of political turmoil, he was ultimately pardoned.

You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest,
and I smile, and am silent,
and even my soul remains quiet:
it lives in the other world
which no one owns.
The peach trees blossom,
The water flows.

Translation Sam Hamill