There is something very likeable about Li Bai - one of the truly great Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty, even though he seemed to have spent much of his time walking by the river, drinking wine in moonlight, and composing poems about it - or maybe that’s why he’s so likeable. That and the sheer timeless quality of his work. I particularly like this poem called "The Solitude of Night".
At the wine party
I lay comatose, knowing nothing.
Windblown flowers fell, perfuming my lap.
When I arose, still drunk,
The birds had all flown to their nests.
All that remained were my fellow inebriates.
I left to walk along the river—alone with the moonlight.
It’s the story we tai chi martial artists are told. The technique embrace the moon is reputedly named after the incident where he drunkenly leaned from the boat to embrace the moon, fell in and drowned
There is something very likeable about Li Bai - one of the truly great Chinese poets of the Tang Dynasty, even though he seemed to have spent much of his time walking by the river, drinking wine in moonlight, and composing poems about it - or maybe that’s why he’s so likeable. That and the sheer timeless quality of his work. I particularly like this poem called "The Solitude of Night".
At the wine party
I lay comatose, knowing nothing.
Windblown flowers fell, perfuming my lap.
When I arose, still drunk,
The birds had all flown to their nests.
All that remained were my fellow inebriates.
I left to walk along the river—alone with the moonlight.
Yes, Li Bai seems very likeable in his poems.
Did he really fall drunk from a boat into a river and drown? Or it that just a myth that has grown around him?
I strongly suspect a myth.
Falling into the water and drowning probably started as a joke.
It’s the story we tai chi martial artists are told. The technique embrace the moon is reputedly named after the incident where he drunkenly leaned from the boat to embrace the moon, fell in and drowned
That really interesting. Thanks for telling me that, Teálach.
Fascinating collection.
Glad you liked it.