Feng Menglong (冯梦龙 1574–1646), a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty once recorded this tale in his Stories to Caution the World:

In the Tang dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–756) presided over the flourishing ‘Kaiyuan Era’. Early in his reign, he valued learning and talent, but after falling deeply for Consort Yang Yuhuan (杨玉环, 719–756), he began to neglect state affairs.

One day, while enjoying wine and blossoms with Consort Yang at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, news arrived that a Khitan envoy had brought a formal letter. The court gathered for its reading — but no official could decipher the foreign script. Xuanzong, furious, feared the envoy would mock the Tang court’s ignorance.

Scholar-official He Zhizhang stepped forward, recommending a neglected genius: the poet Li Bai. Summoned before the throne, Li Bai first accused powerful minister Yang Guozhong and eunuch Gao Lishi of unfairly expelling him from the palace examinations. Then, with clear, resonant voice, he read the Khitan letter. It boasted of marching into China with ‘a million soldiers’ to water horses in imperial gardens, camp in the royal hunting grounds, and rest in the inner palace.

Li Bai promised a reply that would force the Khitan ruler to bow in submission. After a banquet, he demanded imperial hangover soup and insisted Yang and Gao personally grind his ink and remove his boots. Gao protested, saying, ‘When has a grand minister ever ground ink or pulled on boots for a scholar?’ Xuanzong replied, ‘If you will not serve Li, then you shall write the reply yourself.’ The two, silenced, obeyed.

Li Bai then composed a searing letter likening the Khitan ruler to ‘a petty dog’ and ‘a small snake’ daring to challenge a tiger and a dragon. The envoy, pale and shaken, accepted the reply with deep respect and withdrew.

story scene description by Dr Yibin Ni