Bai Juyi (白居易; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a musician, poet, and politician during the mid-Tang dynasty. A successful politician who governed three states during his long career, he was known for an accessible, near vernacular style that was popular throughout medieval East Asia. He was a practitioner of Chan Buddhism. In 832, Bai Juyi repaired an unused part of the Xiangshan Monastery, about seven miles south of Luoyang. He then moved to this location, where he spent the last fourteen years of his life. While living there, he referred to himself as the “Hermit of Xiangshan.”

Jaime Robles is a writer and visual artist. Her artist’s books are housed at the University of California, Berkeley; Yale University; and the Oulipo Archive in Paris, among others. She has two collections published by Shearsman Books (UK), Anime Animus Anima and Hoard, and has been published by many journals, including Conjunctions, Black Sun Lit, New American Writing and Shearsman. On her Substack page, she publishes her thoughts on poetry, art, witches and girl troubadours.

Ma Chengyu studied in Europe and the United States. She currently teaches Chinese and studies guqin. She lives in Shenzhen, China.