English Rendering
I love the joy of Mount Tongguan so deep
That I won’t go home in a thousand years.
I’d like to turn my sleeves while dancing a leap
And sweep the five peaks clean with my song sincere.
An Impromptu Verse After Being Drunk on Tongguan Mountain
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
《铜官山醉后绝句》
Original Text (中文原文)
我爱铜官乐，千年未拟还。
应须回舞袖，拂尽五松山。
Analysis & Context
Composed in 754 CE during Li Bai's travels to Tongguan Mountain in southern Xuancheng, this quatrain was written exactly a decade after his dismissal from court. Now in his fifties with ambitions unfulfilled, the poet channeled his disappointment into a passionate embrace of nature, creating this crystallized expression of finding spiritual solace in landscape—a transformation of worldly frustration into transcendent devotion.
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.
- The Song of a Southern Maid V
- Observing the Moon
- Su Wu
- Ancient Air: A Northern Belle
- 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 )
The Masters' Directory
Journey through the dynasties. Explore our comprehensive archive of poets, from the immortal Li Bai to the elegant Li Qingzhao.
View All Poets →