DRINKING ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT

By Li Po

A pot of wine among flowers.

I alone, drinking without a companion.
I lift the cup and invite the bright moon,
My shadow opposite certainly make up three.
But the moon cannot drink,

And my shadow follows the motions of my body in vain.

For the briefest time are the moon and my shadows in companions.
Oh, be joyful! One must make the most of spring.
I sing- the moon walks forward rhythmically;
I dance, and my shadow shatters and becomes confused.
In my walking moments, we are happily blended.
When I am drunk, we are divided from one another and scattered.
For a long time I shall be obliged to wander without intention;
But we will keep our appointment by the far-off Cloudy River.
Right from the onset, this poem describes to us the loneliness of a man who is
surrounded by nature, yet has no one with whom to share his feelings or life.

A pot of wine, among the flowers; I alone drinking, without a companion. These
lines reflect the life of Li Po or li Bai himself as he left his home while still a
teenager and lived in the mountains. There must have been moments when he
felt the loneliness and solitude of his life, even though it was a self-inflicted
state.

I lift the cup and invite the bright moon, my shadow opposite certainly makes
up three. But the moon cannot drink there is a touch of sarcasm about the
situation he is in and he is raising his cup to the moon pretending that the
company of the moon and his shadow is similar to having people around him.
Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side. Yet with the moon as friend and
the shadow as slave. It is as if his shadow represents the side of his character
that is weak and wants to hide from the world. He uses words like ‘listless’ and
‘slave’ as they describe someone who is tired, lacking energy, someone like
himself who is helpless to his surroundings and to the way, his life is being
lived.

Being in a drunken state does not spell happiness as he writes, while we were
sober, three shared the fun; now we are drunk, each goes his way. He is talking
about the moon and his shadow, each moving in different directions to the
ones he wants to go. As he is drunk, he has no control over his life and he
realizes this because it is when he is sober that he can enjoy his life and have
some fun.

Maybe he will find his happiness in death when he goes to the Cloudy River of
the sky. There is an underlying sense of depression when he describes the
beauty of spring, the carpet of fallen flowers and how anyone who is sober can
bear to see such beauty. In other words, he has to be in a drunken state to
appreciate the beauty nature has to offer.

Li Po mentions God as the Maker of Things who apportions and disposes of the
good and bad things in life, riches and poverty, life and death. It is only through
drink that he can shut such philosophical questions out to which he can provide
no answers and in this state of unquestioning, unfeeling, almost dead state he
discovers that at that time ‘joy is great indeed’

In a delirious state he talks about the importance of wine both in heaven an on

earth,
Since Heaven and Earth both love wine, I can love wine, without shame before
God. He talks about the depth of his addiction to wine saying, At the third cup I
penetrate the Great Way; A full gallon, nature and I are one…. meaning that
when he is drunk and almost loses his mind, he becomes as if one with God
and nature. However, this does not stop his feelings of loneliness and solitude
because the things I feel when wine possesses my soul, I will never tell to those
who are not drunk.

This poem describes the lonely and solitary thoughts of a person who has given
up on people and earthly things and drinks to cope with his solitude. He has
accepted the life he has made for himself and keeps it private. To shut out the
loneliness of his existence and the unanswered questions on life he drinks to
numb himself of all feelings and yet it is through drink that he seems to
become as if one with nature and to understand the meaning of life itself.
Called a wandering poet, most of his poems were his reflections on wine,
nature, friendships and the passing of time.

Li Bai, also known as Li Po, was arguably the greatest poet of China’s Tang dynasty, and
possibly of all its history. His verse is notable for the strong voice and personality it reflects,
uncommon in the 8th century. An accomplished martial artist and academic genius, Li Bai was
also a great lover of wine, becoming a member of the “Six Idlers of the Bamboo Brook”, an
informal group dedicated to literature and drinking. It was the custom of the time to indulge
socially, so the following poem—one of his most famous pieces—explores the unusual
problem of drinking alone, for which Li Bai finds an uncommon solution.

Li Bai was a romantic in his view of life and in his verse. One of the most famous wine
drinkers in China’s long tradition of imbibers, Li Bai frequently celebrated the joy of drinking.
He also wrote of friendship, solitude, the passage of time, and the joys of nature with
brilliance and great freshness of imagination.
Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon, for he, with my shadow, will make three men there
is a touch of sarcasm about the situation he is in and he is raising his cup to the moon
pretending that the company of the moon and his shadow is similar to having people around
him. Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side. Yet with the moon as friend and the
shadow as slave. It is as if his shadow represents the side of his character that is weak and
wants to hide from the world. He uses words like ‘listless’ and ‘slave’ as they describe
someone who is tired, lacking energy, someone like himself who is helpless to his
surroundings and to the way, his life is being lived.

Being in a drunken state does not spell happiness as he writes, While we were sober, three
shared the fun; Now we are drunk, each goes his way.. He is talking about the moon and his
shadow, each moving in different directions to the ones he wants to go.. As he is drunk, he
has no control over his life and he realizes this because it is when he is sober that he can
enjoy his life and have some fun.

Maybe he will find his happiness in death when he goes to the Cloudy River of the sky. There
is an underlying sense of depression when he describes the beauty of spring, the carpet of
fallen flowers and how anyone who is sober can bear to see such beauty. In other words, he
has to be in a drunken state to appreciate the beauty nature has to offer.

Li Po mentions God as the Maker of Things who apportions and disposes of the good and bad
things in life, riches and poverty, life and death. It is only through drink that he can shut such
philosophical questions out to which he can provide no answers and in this state of
unquestioning, unfeeling, almost dead state he discovers that at that time ‘joy is great
indeed’

In a delirious state he talks about the importance of wine both in heaven an on earth,
Since Heaven and Earth both love wine, I can love wine, without shame before God. He talks
about the depth of his addiction to wine saying, At the third cup I penetrate the Great Way; A
full gallon, nature and I are one…. meaning that when he is drunk and almost loses his mind,
he becomes as if one with God and nature. However, this does not stop his feelings of
loneliness and solitude because the things I feel when wine possesses my soul, I will never
tell to those who are not drunk.

Message of the poem:

This poem describes the lonely and solitary thoughts of a person who has given up on people
and earthly things and drinks to cope with his solitude. He has accepted the life he has made
for himself and keeps it private. To shut out the loneliness of his existence and the
unanswered questions on life he drinks to numb himself of all feelings and yet it is through
drink that he seems to become as if one with nature and to understand the meaning of life
itself. Called a wandering poet, most of his poems were his reflections on wine, nature,
friendships and the passing of time.