Song of Drinking Eight Immortals is humorous in artistic conception, bright in color and light in melody. From the phonological point of view, it is a rigorous and complete, rhyme to the end, in one go. Structurally, each role has its own chapter, and the eight roles have distinct priorities. The personality characteristics of each character set off each other like a group sculpture, which is really unique in art.
From the perspective of "drinking", this poem connects Li Bai, He, Li, Li Zhi, Cui Zongzhi, Su Jin, Zhang Xu and Jiao Sui, who were called "eight immortals in wine" at that time, and forms a vivid group image by tracing back the narrative, refining the language and sketching the characters.
The original text (excerpt) is as follows:
Li Bai wrote hundreds of poems about fighting wine and went to sleep in a restaurant in Chang 'an.
The son of heaven didn't get on the boat, calling himself Brewmaster.
Zhang Xu handed down three cups of grass, and before he took off his hat and showed his head to the maharaja, he threw the paper like a cloud.
Jiao Sui's five buckets of rice are outstanding and have amazing eloquence.
The translation is as follows:
Li Bai can write hundreds of poems in a wine fight. He goes to Chang 'an Street Restaurant to drink and often sleeps in restaurants.
The son of heaven gave a banquet in the lake and asked him to preface the poem. He refused to get on the boat because he was drunk, claiming to be Brewmaster.
Zhang Xu drank three glasses of wine and wrote a book with a brush. People called him Cao Xian. He often takes off his hat in front of princes and nobles and scribbles books. If God helps him, his book will be like a cloud of smoke on the paper.
After drinking five glasses of wine, I regained my spirits. Conversations at parties often surprise everyone.
Extended data:
According to "Biography of Li and Xuanzong in the New and Old Tang Dynasty", Li went on strike in April of the fifth year of Tang Tianbao (746), so this poem must have been written after April of the fifth year of Tang Tianbao, that is, when Du Fu arrived in Chang 'an.
Historically, Li Bai, He, Li, Cui Zongzhi, Zhang Xu and Jiao Sui were all good drinkers, and they were called "Eight Immortals in Wine". They all live in Chang 'an, and they are very similar in drinking, generous and open-minded.
This poem written by Du Fu is the portrait of these eight people.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Drinking Eight Immortals Song