Li Bai
Do you not see the Yellow River come from the sky,
Rushing into the sea and ne'er come back?
Do you not see the mirror bright in chamber high
Grieve o'er your snow-white hair that once was silken back?
When hopes are won, oh, drink your fill in high delight
And never leave your wine cup empty in moonlight!
Heaven has made us talents; we're not made in vain.
A thousand gold coins spent, more will turn up again.
Kill a cow, cook a sheep and let us merry be,
And drink three hundred cupfuls of wine in high glee!
Dear friends of mine,
Cheer up, cheer up!
I invite you to wine.
Do not put down your cup!
I will sing you a song, please hear,
O hear! Lend me a willing ear!
What difference will rare and costly dishes make?
I want only to get drunk and ne'er to wake.
How many great men were forgotten through the ages?
Great drinkers are better known than sober sages.
The Prince of Poets* feasted in his palace at will,
Drank wine at ten thousand coins a cask and laughed his fill.
A host should not complain of money he is short;
To drink together we'd sell things of any sort.
The fur coat worth a thousand coins of gold
And flower-dappled horse may both be sold
To buy good wine that we may drown the woes age-old
Li Bai
Of the three great poets of the Tang dynasty, Li Bai (Li Po in older texts) is probably the one most familiar to western readers. He was born in 701 in Gang Xiao Sheng, a territory of China, and when five years old followed his merchant father to Sichuan. Of an independent and bohemian nature