Li Bai, styled Taibai and calling himself the Hermit of Green Lotus, was one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty. His ancestral home was Chengji in Longxi (near modern Tianshui, Gansu), but his family was exiled to the Western Regions due to a crime, and he was born in Suiye (within modern CIS territory), growing up in the Green Lotus Village of Mianzhou (modern Mianyang, Sichuan).
In his youth, Li Bai was a master swordsman, generous with his wealth, and a brilliant poet. At 25, he bid farewell to his family, strapped on his sword, and left home to travel far and wide. Over several years, he roamed through what are now Hunan, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Though he was exceptionally talented and ambitious, eager to enter politics, his upright and unyielding character found no welcome in the corrupt officialdom—so for over a decade, his efforts came to nothing.
At 42, Li Bai was summoned by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, his brilliance causing a stir in the capital. But the emperor, a pleasure-seeking "Peaceful Monarch," left state affairs to the treacherous Chancellor Li Linfu and eunuch Gao Lishi, wanting only a poet to sing his praises. Li Bai, proud and unbowed, showed no flattery before the throne, drawing slander from Gao Lishi and gradually losing the emperor's trust.
After realizing Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had no intention of truly employing him, Li Bai, fearing slander from petty officials would bring disaster, voluntarily requested to leave the court. During his three years in Chang'an, he saw through the darkness of reality and the corruption of the rulers, composing many deeply thoughtful poems.
After leaving Chang'an, Li Bai began a ten-year wandering life. Due to repeated setbacks in reality, he developed the idea of seeking immortals and Dao, hoping to escape the ugly reality and pursue a beautiful life. "A Reply in the Mountains" is a poem he wrote pursuing a beautiful realm, expressing the meaning:
Someone once asked me why I chose to dwell in the emerald mountains, and I simply smiled without answering—my heart at peace, lost among the drifting peach blossoms, where a hidden world unfolds beyond the reach of mortal questions.
I smiled without answering, my heart at ease and carefree.
Watch the peach blossoms drift freely with the flowing water into the distance.
Here, there is a different kind of world, unlike the dark and filthy realm of men.
"Another World" means a different realm, also describing scenery that is captivating.
Source: *Complete Works of Li Bai*, "A Reply to a Question in the Mountains"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "别有天地" came to describe how a different realm or captivating scenery is described.