Drinking Song
- Poetry of Li He
Unsuccessful I stay but with a cup of wine;
The kind host wishes me to live to ninety-nine.
An ancient could not but stay in the west for long;
In vain his household waited with their willow song.
"A young talent often met with contemptuous eye,
Unknown on the old earth under the dreary sky.
You may write letters of two lines now and again,
And you may not court imperial favor in vain."
I would not call back my soul lost in a sad plight,
But when the cock crows, all the world will see daylight.
"While young, you should aim high and soar into the cloud.
Who pities a lonely man sobbing in the crowd?"
In the year 806, the young Li He harbored great ambitions and was preparing to take the imperial examination. However, due to a taboo on his father’s name, "Jinsu," he was disqualified from participating. This sudden setback left Li He deeply frustrated, and his life remained full of hardships. Yet, instead of succumbing to despair, he expressed his emotions through poetry. "Song of Offering Wine" was written during his time of confinement in Chang’an. Though tinged with sorrow, it conveys a profound vitality and a strong sense of self-motivation.
零落栖迟一杯酒，主人奉觞客长寿。
主父西游困不归，家人折断门前柳。
吾闻马周昔作新丰客，天荒地老无人识。
空将笺上两行书，直犯龙颜请恩泽。
我有迷魂招不得，雄鸡一声天下白。
少年心事当拏云，谁念幽寒坐呜呃。
- 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.
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