Laijon Liu (06/27/1975 / Dalian, China)

Drinking Alone by Moonlight 月 下 獨 酌
By Tang Poet: Li Po / Li Bai
Translated by Laijon Liu

A pot of wine in the flower bush,
I drink alone without a friend.
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,
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 abide,
And one day we may truly meet in the far misty heavens.

Note:
This poem is done 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,
then they can enjoy and understand each other;
yet when they are after drunk as present,
that 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 as a poetic death, only thru this, the distance between the poet and moon could be made away.

My Note of this poem is (c) my copyright :)

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.