Drinking Alone With the Moon
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)

《月下独酌》
#Wine #Imagery #Solitude

English Rendering

From a pot of wine among the flowers

I drank alone. There was no one with me --

Till, raising my cup, I asked the bright moon

To bring me my shadow and make us three.

Alas, the moon was unable to drink

And my shadow tagged me vacantly;

But still for a while I had these friends

To cheer me through the end of spring....

I sang. The moon encouraged me.

I danced. My shadow tumbled after.

As long as I knew, we were boon companions.

And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.

...Shall goodwill ever be secure?

I watch the long road of the River of Stars.

Drinking Alone With the Moon by Li Bai (Li Po) #Wine #Imagery #Solitude
Drinking Alone With the Moon by Li Bai (Li Po) #Wine #Imagery #Solitude

Original Text (中文原文)

花间一壶酒,独酌无相亲。

举杯邀明月,对影成三人。

月既不解饮,影徒随我身。

暂伴月将影,行乐须及春。

我歌月徘徊,我舞影零乱。

醒时相交欢,醉后各分散。

永结无情游,相期邈云汉。

Analysis & Context

Five-character-ancient-verse

This poem was composed during Li Bai's political disillusionment, when he increasingly felt the rarity of true companionship in the world, finding solace only in the moon and his shadow. Through wine and imagery, he projects his solitude onto the cosmos. Though themed around solitary drinking, the poet fantastically conjures the moon and shadow as "companions," revealing a transcendent nonchalance tinged with inescapable loneliness.

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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