Songs of Eight Immortal Drinkers: The Chapter of Li Bai
- Poetry of Du Fu
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.
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.
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。
- 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.