Four Poems "Drinking Alone Under the Moon" by Li Bai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty
One of them
A pot of wine among the flowers, drinking alone without any blind date. Raise a glass to invite the bright moon, and make three people in the shadows. The moon doesn't know how to drink, and its shadow follows me. For now, the moon will be shadowed, and we must have fun until spring. My singing moon lingers, my dancing shadows are scattered. They make love together when they are awake, but they separate when they are drunk. We will travel together forever, and we will meet each other in Miao Yunhan.
Second
If heaven does not love wine, the wine star will not be in the sky. If the earth does not love wine, there should be no fountain of wine. Both heaven and earth love wine, and the love of wine is worthy of heaven. I have heard that it is as clear as a sage, but when I return to the Tao, it is as turbid as a sage. Since the sages have already drank, why ask for gods? Three cups lead to the road, and one bucket leads to nature. But if you get the pleasure from drinking, don’t pass it on to those who are sober.
Third
In Xianyang City in March, thousands of flowers look like brocade during the day. Who can be sad in spring alone, he must drink from it. Poor communication and shortcomings are all given by nature. One bottle brings life and death together, and everything is difficult to judge. After being drunk, I lost my world and suddenly found myself sleeping alone. Not knowing that I am here, this is the greatest joy.
Fourth
Thousands of poverty and sorrow, three hundred glasses of fine wine. There is a lot of sorrow, although there is little wine, the wine will not bring sorrow. Therefore, we know that wine is the sage, and the heart will naturally open up when the wine is intoxicated. I left Shou Yang and returned to the empty and hungry face. In today's world, people are not happy to drink, so it is easy to use it in vain. Crab claws are gold liquid, and bad hills are Penglai. And you must drink fine wine and ride on the moon to get drunk on the high platform.
Translation:
Part one
Put a pot of fine wine among the flowers and drink it by yourself, without friends or relatives. Raise a glass to invite the bright moon and become three people facing the figure. Of course Mingyue doesn't know how to drink, and her figure just follows me. I had no choice but to become drinking companions with them temporarily. If I want to have fun, I must seize the beautiful spring time.
When I sing, the bright moon lingers, and when I dance, my figure is scattered. We rejoice together when we are awake, but separate when we are drunk. I would like to form a friendship with them forever that will forget the pain, and meet by the misty Milky Way.
Second
If heaven does not love wine, the wine star cannot be listed in the sky. If a place doesn't like wine, it shouldn't have a wine spring in its name. Since both heaven and earth love wine, my love for wine is worthy of heaven. I first heard that clear wine was compared to a saint, and then I heard that turbid wine was compared to a wise person.
Since all sages drink alcohol, why bother asking gods? Three glasses of wine can lead to the Confucian road, and one bucket of wine is in line with the Taoist nature. I only get the pleasure of being drunk, but this pleasure cannot be passed on to those who are awake!
Third
In March in Chang'an City, the spring scenery is bright and the spring flowers are like brocade. Who can be as sad as I am when spring comes and all I can do is drink in this beautiful scenery? Wealth, poverty and longevity are inherently different and each has its own talents.
There is no difference between life and death in the wine glass, not to mention that everything in the world has no final conclusion. After getting drunk, he lost the heaven and the earth and plunged into Guzhen. When you are intoxicated, you don’t know that you are still there. Where can you find this kind of happiness?
Fourth
Endless sorrow has thousands of threads. I have more than three hundred glasses of fine wine. Once I pour the fine wine, my sorrow will never come back. That’s why I understand the sage in wine. Even if you drink less and have more sorrows, your heart will become cheerful when you are drunk. Cisu could only live in seclusion in Shouyang Mountain, and he suffered from hunger even without food and wine.
If today’s people are not happy to drink, what’s the use of a false reputation? The crab claws are the golden liquid of the elixir, and the hills are the immortal mountain Penglai. Let's drink some fine wine first and get drunk on the high platform under the moonlight.
Extended information
Creative background
This poem was written about the third year of Tianbao reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (744). At that time, Li Bai was in Chang'an and was frustrated in officialdom. time. Under the title of this poem, both the Song and Miao editions note the word "Chang'an", which means that these four poems were written in Chang'an. At that time, Li Bai's political ideals could not be realized, and he felt lonely and depressed. But when he faced the dark reality, he did not sink or join in the evil, but pursued freedom and yearned for light, which is why he did this.
Poem Appreciation
There are four poems in this group, the first of which is the most widely circulated.
The first poem describes the poet's lonely and sad feelings caused by political frustration. The poem renders the lonely environment very lively. Not only is the pen and ink vivid, but more importantly, it expresses the poet's broad-minded and uninhibited personality and emotions that are good at dispelling loneliness. The background of this poem is a flower room, the prop is a pot of wine, the character is just himself, the action is drinking alone, and with the words "no blind date" added, the scene is very monotonous.
So the poet suddenly had a whim, pulled the bright moon in the sky and his own shadow under the moonlight, and turned himself into three people, toasting and drinking, in a deserted scene. It suddenly became lively. However, the moon does not drink, and the shadow follows it, and I am still lonely. Therefore, from the fifth to the eighth sentence, discussions are made from the shadow of the moon, pointing out the meaning of the title "Enjoyment and Spring".
The last six sentences are the third paragraph, describing the poet's determination to have a loveless journey with the moonlight and the figure forever, and to meet again in the distant fairyland in the sky. The poet uses rich imagination to express a complex emotion that goes from being alone to not being alone, from not being alone to being alone, and then from being alone to not being alone. The whole poem is in the form of a monologue, self-reliant and self-destructive, self-destructive and self-reliant. The poetry is ups and downs and pure from nature, so it has been passed down to future generations.
The second poem is discussed throughout, and can be called a "wine debate". Let’s start with the world’s “love of wine”. The wine stars in the sky and the wine springs on the earth show that heaven and earth also love wine, and then we draw the conclusion that "heaven and earth both love wine, and their love of wine is worthy of heaven." Next, talking about people, there are sages among people, and sages also love wine, so the love of wine by ordinary people is not a problem. This is Li Bai's excuse for his love of wine. He said in the poem: "Since the sages have already drank, why ask for gods." He also highlighted drinking by belittling gods.
From sages to gods, the conclusion is that loving wine is not only reasonable, but also beneficial. Finally, drinking wine is raised to the highest level: it is in line with the road, in line with nature, and the taste in wine is indescribable.
This poem is about reasoning throughout. In fact, its purpose is not to understand the reason, but to express emotions, that is, to express emotions in the way of reasoning. This illogical discussion is a very interesting and profound expression of the poet's feelings. The poet's love of wine is just a way to relieve his political frustration. His "fun in drinking" is precisely this indescribable feeling.
The beginning of the third poem says that the poet cannot enjoy traveling because of his sorrow, so he said, "Whoever can be alone in spring must drink." The poet hopes to get relief from wine. Then the poet explained it from the perspective of life outlook, sought spiritual comfort, and concluded that "this is the most enjoyable thing." The poem is basically broad-minded and optimistic, but the phrase "Who can be alone in spring" reveals the poet's inner frustration and pessimism.
If you are broad-minded and optimistic, you are just trying to comfort yourself. Not only does it not work, it doesn’t stop or flow. The result of forced self-relief is often a flow of water, which is extremely exciting. When a person laughs wildly when he is in extreme pain, people can feel the extreme pain in his heart.
When Li Bai was frustrated and lonely, he said drunkenly, "I didn't know I was here, this is the greatest joy." Readers can also feel the poet's inner pain from the word "joy". Writing complaints with broad-mindedness and sorrow with joy are the main features of this poem's artistic expression and its artistic success.
The fourth poem uses allusions to write about the benefits of drinking. At the beginning, the poet used wine to drown his sorrows, hoping to use wine to calm his sorrows. He said in a reasoning tone: "So I know the sage of wine, and the wine will make me happy." Then he described drinking and having fun as the most practical thing in human life. The most interesting thing.
The poet deliberately belittled Boyi, Shuqi, Yan Hui and others to express the view that fame is not as good as drinking. The poet does not necessarily have a negative attitude towards Boyi, Shuqi, Yan Hui and others. He writes this to express his affirmation of drinking and having fun in time. Then, the poet compared gods with drinking, indicating that drinking is more enjoyable than gods.
Li Bai borrowed the allusions of crab claws and bad hills, not really to imitate Bi Zhuo and end his life by drinking, nor to affirm that King Zhou lived a decadent life in the wine pool and meat forest, but just to illustrate that one must be happy to drink in the contemporary era. . The final conclusion is: "You must drink fine wine and ride on the moon to get drunk on the high platform." Having said this, as long as you savor the poetry carefully, you can feel that what the poet experiences from the wine is not happiness, but sorrow.
Anecdotes from poetry dictionaries
Li Bai’s life was accompanied by wine, and his poems are also full of the romantic color of wine immortals and poets. In Li Bai's poems, wine has become a frequent visitor and a close friend. When he communicates with wine, he can transcend his own emotions to the greatest extent, so that the poems he writes make people feel that their emotions are so abundant.
After drinking, he seems to be freer, writing what is on his mind and achieving great ambitions. The wine did not paralyze him here, but gave him endless immortal energy. Although Li Bai lived in a feudal society, wine gave his poems an emotional and institutional transcendence. Maybe Li Bai is not the real Li Bai, Li Bai plus wine is complete.
Li Bai’s attitude towards wine often alludes to his view of life and death. Living in the open, tolerant, prosperous and prosperous Tang Empire, his attitude towards wine and life and death were both influenced by Lao and Zhuang. , has something to do with the people's view of life and death in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but because of the role of the Confucian thought of "If you are prosperous, you can help the world, and if you are poor, you can only take care of yourself", "cultivating one's moral character, regulating one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world" has always been his pursuit part.
In many cases, wine is the regulator for him to balance himself between "being born" and "entering the world". However, due to the differences in the times and environments in which he lives, "Taibai Drunkenness" becomes an atmospheric and dripping drink. The symbol of great passion is more carefree and free than the romance of Wei and Jin Dynasties.
In fact, the "wine" in Li Bai's works is often associated with the "moon". It is his naive intention to use wine to relieve sorrow, talk to the moon, and pursue the piercing length of the wine and the cold eternity of the moon. Performance is also his fatal weakness.
He likes wine too much and is too obsessed with the moon. His connection with the two is natural and emotional, not bound by rational concepts, and full of liberating and transcendent spirits. For this The pursuit of the two is engraved in their bones, and even life and death cannot stop them.