Drinking Song Among Eight Immortals
饮 中 八 仙 歌
知 章 骑 马 似 乘 船
眼 花 落 井 水 底 眠。
汝 阳 三 斗 始 朝 天
道 逢 颊 车 口 流 涎
恨 不 移 封 向 酒 泉。
左 相 日 兴 费 万 钱
饮 如 长 鲸 吸 百 川
衔 杯 乐 圣 称 避 贤。
宗 之 潇 洒 美 少 年
举 觞 白 眼 望 青 天
皎 如 玉 树 临 风 前。
苏 晋 长 斋 绣 佛 前、
醉 中 往 往 爱 逃 禅。
李 白 一 斗 诗 百 篇
长 安 市 上 酒 家 眠。
天 子 呼 来 不 上 船
自 称 臣 是 酒 中 仙。
张 旭 三 杯 草 圣 传
脱 帽 露 顶 王 公 前
挥 毫 落 纸 如 云 烟。
焦 遂 五 斗 方 桌 然
高 谈 雄 辩 惊 四 筵。
Yin Zhong Ba Xian Ge
Zhi zhang qi ma si cheng chuan
Yan hua luo jing shui di mian.
Ru yang san dou shi zhao tian
Dao feng (jia)(qu) che kou liu xian
Hen bu yi feng xiang jiu quan.
Zuo xiang ri xing fei wan qian.
Yin ru chang jing xi bai chuan
Xian bei le sheng chen bi xian.
Zong zhi xiao sa mei shao nian
Ju shang bai yan wang qing tian
Jiao ru yu shu lin feng qian.
Su jin chang zhai xiu fo qian
Zui zhong wang wang ai tao chan.
Li bai yi dou shi bai pian
Chang an shi shang jiu jia mian.
Tian zi hu lai bu shang chuan
Zi chen chen shi jiu zhong xian.
Zhang xu san bei cao sheng zhuan
Tuo mao lu ding wang gong qian
Hui hao luo zhi ru yun yan.
Jiao sui wu dou fang zhuo ran
Gao tan xiong bian jing si yan.
Drinking Song Among Eight Immortals
Zhi Zhang rides his horse like one sailing a boat
Blindly drunk, happily ends up asleep at the bottom of a well.
Ru Yang drinks three decaliters before attending the imperial dawn audience
On the highway he encountered a carriage holding fermented wine,
his mouth flowed with saliva.
He hated not being placed close to Jin Quan–the wine spring waters.
Everyday Zuo Xiang spends thousands of coins on pleasure
Drinks like a long whale swallowing one hundred rivers
Cup after cup, poems seem happy and full of sacred flattery, but actually
false and satirical.
Zong Zhi handsome and self-assured in early youth
Raises his wine cup, clear eyes gaze into the distant blue skies
Clear and bright like jade trees facing the wind.
Su Jin for a long time a vegetarian, sits in front of Buddhist embroideries.
While drunk he frequently forgets his spiritual vows and intents.
Li Bai with one decaliter of wine can then produce one hundred poems
He sleeps in Chang’an wine houses after his drinking
When summoned to write a libretto for the emperor, he deferred because he was floating far away in a celestial boat.
He was drinking wine with the immortals.
Zhang Xu after three cups of wine, his calligraphy connected and unsurpassed
Removing his government hat in front of the princes and dukes
Wielding a large brush, puts down on paper, clouds and mists.
Commoner Jiao Sui is outstanding and remarkable after five decaliters
Startles a banquet of people with his superior and powerful arguments.
Notes:
Eight Immortals: Du Fu wrote this poem about Li Bai and his group of eight drinking buddies. All of them were about the same age, living in the capital, Chang’an. They famously got drunk and wrote poems for the slightest of occasions. Four of the eight always drank together, while the other four coming and going from the group.
Ru Yang: His uncle was Emperor Xuanzong. Upon seeing that his father was very fearful for his life by being so close to the emperor, he decided to drink his way through life. Reportedly he woke up every morning with three cups of wine.
Zuo Xiang: This was the government position held by Li Shi. He was the secretary under one of the cabinet ministers. He came from a wealthy family, so he was almost always called upon to pay the drinking bill.