English Rendering
Drinking on Dragon Hill on this Autumn day,
Golden blossoms laugh at the exiled vassal –
Drunkenness watches his cap blown off by the wind;
Dance loves the moon for keeping the swaying man.
Drinking on Dragon Hill on the Ninth of the Ninth Month
Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《九日龙山饮》
Original Text (中文原文)
九日龙山饮，黄花笑逐臣。
醉看风落帽，舞爱月留人。
Meaning & Analysis
Double Ninth is the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, as autumn festival in China when people, men of letters in particular, ascend heights to take in the autumn sights, while remembering the parted loved ones and contemplating on the inevitable advent of winter in life.
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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- Awaiting the Wine That Doesn’t Come
- Consoling Myself
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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