English Rendering
Li Bai would turn sweet nectar into verses fine.
Drunk in the capital, he'd lie in shops of wine.
Even imperial summons proudly he'd decline,
Saying immortals could leave the drink divine.
Songs of Eight Immortal Drinkers: The Chapter of Li Bai
- Poetry of Du Fu
《饮中八仙歌 · 李白》Original Text (中文原文)
李白一斗诗百篇，长安市上酒家眠。
天子呼来不上船，自称臣是酒中仙。
Meaning & Analysis
This poem is from Du Fu’s "Songs of Eight Immortal Drinkers", composed around 746 AD during the Tianbao era. At that time, Li Bai had just ended his tenure as a scholar at the Imperial Academy and left Chang'an under the pretext of being "dismissed with rewards." Du Fu, who had recently arrived in the capital, witnessed the free-spirited and unrestrained revelry of this group on the eve of the decline of the Tang Dynasty's golden age. The eight immortals of wine represent a snapshot of the flourishing Tang spirit, and Li Bai, featured last, is portrayed with the most vivid strokes—these four lines are both a heartfelt sketch of his close friend and an elegy for the free spirit of an era.
Related Themes
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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