By Tang Poet: Mr. Li Po / Li Bai
Translated by Laijon Liu
A pot of wine in the flower bush,
I drink alone without a friend.
I raise my cup to invite the bright moon,
And greet to my shadow for we’re three friends.
But the moon does not know how to drink,
And my shadow remains still, unmoved.
The moon and my shadow ’re my temporal companions,
But still we must enjoy each other for this springtime.
So I sing, then the moon starts to wander,
I dance, and my shadow disorderly scatters.
We enjoy each other while we are awake,
And depart to each own way after drunk.
Let our unbound affection forever abides,
And one day we may truly meet in the far misty heavens.
Haiku Style Translation:
Among the flowery bush,
A pot of wine,
I drink alone without a friend.
I raise my cup to invite the moon,
And toast to my shadow,
For we are three friends.
But the moon does not drink wine,
And my shadow
Just follows me in vain.
Oh, my temporal friends:
The moon and my shadow,
We must make joys before the spring ends.
So I sing my songs,
The moon starts to wander;
And I dance, my shadow disorderly swings.
For we are awake,
We share our bliss,
But after drunk, we go separate way.
May we forever abide
Thru this unaffected relation,
Till the day we meet in the Milky Way.
Note:
This is poem that in the lonely state of the poet,
who is sitting in his party that no one attend.
The moon does not know how to drink,
as his emperor who knows not the poet's wine,
so he could only walk and sing as if the moon wanders,
and dance to make his shadow to follow,
yet it just disorderly scatters.
For affection only comes from the poet
towards the moon and his shadow,
but still they do not communicate with the poet.
And poet realizes that when they are awake,
they enjoy and understand each other;
yet when they are after drunk,
they just depart on each own way.
Even though they have unaffected relation,
Still the poet wants it to be forever,
until they could truly meet in the far vast heavens.
Many people love this poem and I do, but this poem could be literally attractive to anyone, but there is a deep meaning beneath all the characters, Li Bai/Li Po, was respected by his Emperor only as a poet, and he was never entrusted with any court matters, as Li Bai himself always wanted to achieve good works for the nation and people, however not many peoples understood his true ambitions and knew his ability, that created his life view of drinking alone, and he was very confident self view, so he toasted his cup to moon, and danced, his shadow scattered might be reflected on the surface of water, and the last line could also be read a poetic death of the poet, only thru this, the distance between the poet and moon could be made away.
Drinking Alone by Moonlight 月下獨酌
By Tang Poet: Mr. Li Po / Li Bai
Translated by Laijon Liu (2nd Version)
花間一壺酒。 A pot of wine, under the flower bush;
獨酌無相親。 I drank alone without a friend.
舉杯邀明月。 Raised my cup to toast the bright moon,
對影成三人。 And greeted my shadow for we were three friends.
月既不解飲。 But the moon did not drink my wine;
影徒隨我身。 And my shadow followed me in vain.
暫伴月將影。 For my temporal company, the moon and my shadow,
行樂須及春。 We must share our happiness for this springtime.
我歌月徘徊。 So I sang, then the moon started to wander,
我舞影零亂。 I danced, and my shadow wildly swung.
醒時同交歡。 While we were awake, we shared the fun;
醉後各分散。 After we were drunk, each left to his way.
永結無情遊。 May our unaffected affection forever journeys,
相期邈雲漢。 Until we meet in the vast cloudy Milky Way.
Arthur Waley’s Translation
花間一壺酒。 A cup of wine, under the flowering trees;
獨酌無相親。 I drink alone, for no friend is near.
舉杯邀明月。 Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon,
對影成三人。 For her, with my shadow, will make three men.
月既不解飲。 The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine;
影徒隨我身。 Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side.
暫伴月將影。 Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave
行樂須及春。 I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
我歌月徘徊。 To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams;
我舞影零亂。 In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks.
醒時同交歡。 While we were sober, three shared the fun;
醉後各分散。 Now we are drunk, each goes his way.
永結無情遊。 May we long share our odd, inanimate feast,
相期邈雲漢。 And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.
