Li Po (李白), also Romanized as Li Bai, Li Bo, and Li Pai, was a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty likely born in 701.
月下独酌
（四首其一）
花间一壶酒，
独酌无相亲[1]。
举杯邀明月，
对影成三人。
月既不解饮，
影徒随我身。
暂伴月将[2]影，
行乐须及春。
我歌月徘徊，
我舞影零乱。
醒时同交欢[3]，
醉后各分散。
永结无情游，
相期邈云汉[4]。
公元744年，李白对“珠玉买歌笑，糟糠养贤才”的长安生活不满，感到寂寞，就去花间饮酒，写下了这首名作。开始两句写他孤独，“举杯”两句显得旷达，“月既”两句又写孤独，“暂伴”两句又似旷达。前八句是起伏相间，一抑一扬。接着四句不但旷达，而且俊逸。最后两句把想象引向高远，真是“飘然思不群”了。但孤独是现实，旷达是幻想。诗写得越旷达，越显得诗人孤独。不过幻想是对现实的否定和批判，所以旷达显示了积极的精神力量，造就了诗的美感。
注释：
[1]无相亲：没有亲近的人。
[2]将：共，伴同。
[3]同交欢：一起欢乐。
[4]相期邈云汉：约定在天上相见；期：约会；邈：遥远；云汉：银河，这里指仙境。
Drinking Alone under the Moon
(I)
Amid the flowers,from a pot of wine
I drink alone beneath the bright moonshine.
I raise my cup to invite the Moon who blends
Her light with my Shadow and we’re three friends.
The Moon does not know how to drink her share;
In vain my Shadow follows me here and there.
Together with them for the time I stay
And make merry before spring’s spent away.
I sing and the Moon lingers to hear my song;
My Shadow’s a mess while I dance along.
Sober,we three remain cheerful and gay;
Drunken,we part and each may go his way.
Our friendship will outshine all earthly love,
Next time we’ll meet beyond the stars above.
In 744 AD, Li Bai was dissatisfied with the life in Chang’an, where “pearls and jades are used to buy songs and laughter, and chaff is used to support talents”. He felt lonely, so he went to Huajian to drink and wrote this famous work. The first two sentences describe his loneliness, the two sentences of “raising the cup” seem to be open-minded, the two sentences of “the moon is gone” describe loneliness, and the two sentences of “temporary companionship” seem to be open-minded. The first eight sentences are ups and downs, one is depressed and the other is up. The next four sentences are not only open-minded, but also handsome. The last two sentences lead the imagination to a high place, which is really “floating and thinking out of the crowd”. But loneliness is reality, and open-mindedness is fantasy. The more open-minded the poem is, the more lonely the poet appears. However, fantasy is a negation and criticism of reality, so open-mindedness shows positive spiritual power and creates the beauty of the poem.
