The fate of poets like Li Shang-yin, who are labeled “medieval,” is never to be modern. Critics both ancient and modern read them within a perspective they call “medieval” and will not allow these poets the freedom of expression which is rightly theirs and which qualifies them as baroque and, hence, “modern.” In the paper I examine the case of Li Shang-yin and what makes him not only a great baroque poet, but also a great modern poet.