Drinking Together with Liu Yuxi
- Poetry of Bai Juyi
While young, I was not worded about livelihood.
Old now, how could I grudge money for buying wine?
Let's spend ten thousand coins for a jarful of drink good!
Looking in face, two years more we'll be sixty-nine.
We read and play the drinkers' wager game at leisure;
Drunk, we listen to verse better than music light.
When chrysanthemums yellow, may 1 have the pleasure
To invite you to drink my home-brew with delight?
In the second year of Emperor Wenzong’s Kaicheng era (837), Bai Juyi and Liu Yuxi both held official positions in Luoyang. However, their roles were insignificant, and they faced political neglect. Nearing seventy, with no further hopes for their careers, they found solace in poetry and wine. This poem was written during one of their drinking gatherings, expressing both the joy of revelry and the underlying sorrow of their frustrated ambitions.
少时犹不忧生计，老去谁能惜酒钱？
共把十千沽一斗，相看七十欠三年。
闲征雅令穷经史，醉听清吟胜管弦。
更待菊黄家酿熟，共君一醉一陶然。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.