Li Po is an excellent Tang dynasty poet who liked to drink too much and then write verse. He was a real "carpe diem" type of guy who became popular in the West when Ezra Pound translated his verse around 1918. Although he allegedly drowned in the Yangtze River after stepping out of a boat to hug the moon, more likely he was poisoned by sipping mercury as a Taoist elixir to gain eternal life. Oh well, at least he wrote some good poems.

There was alot of references to people and places. I felt like kinda i had to be there then.

Lovely, lovely.

I return to Li Po often. He is as important to me as anyone in my literary pantheon. I haven't done the comparative research to determine which translation is best, but I've yet to be disappointed when I've cracked a Li Po collection.

really, the following is all you need to know:

Alone and Drinking Under the Moon

Amongst the flowers I
am alone with my pot of wine
drinking by myself; then lifting
my cup I asked the moon
to drink with me, its reflection
and mine in the wine cup, just
the three of us; then I sigh
for the moon cannot drink,
and my shadow goes emptily along
with me never saying a word;
with no other friends here, I can
but use these two for company;
in the time of happiness, I
too must be happy with all
around me; I sit and sing
and it is as if the moon
accompanies me; then if I
dance, it is my shadow that
dances along with me; while
still not drunk, I am glad
to make the moon and my shadow
into friends, but then when
I have drunk too much, we
all part; yet these are
friends I can always count on
these who have no emotion
whatsoever; I hope that one day
we three will meet again,
deep in the Milky Way.

-Li Po

i could take off a star for how often certain images appear (the moon, wine, spring, autumn, and the word emerald were endless) yet i honestly do not mind. these are just too lovely—perfect for calming the restless mind. i enjoyed them so much <3

Beautiful and full of fleeting emotions, these poems pass over one's heart like a cloud disturbing a clear moonlight night.

A FRIEND STAYS THE NIGHT

Rinsing sorrows of a thousand forevers
away, we linger out a hundred jars of wine,

the clear night’s clarity filling small talk,
a lucid moon keeping us awake. And after

we’re drunk, we sleep in empty mountains,
all heaven our blanket, earth our pillow.

This 8th century Chinese poet and wandering monk writes clear and
fresh deep images of his travels and thoughts. The reader feels as if
she is in the midst of the pine-covered mountains and streams. Li Po
is not above wine-drinking with fellow travellers and he then uses
wit and humor in those verses. A book of refuge and refreshment.

Loves wine, nature, the river, his pals, and writes with a clarity that about bowls you over.

One of my favorites

লি পো’র কবিতা ভালো লেগেছে। তাং রাজত্বকালের কবি লি পোকে অনেকটাই রেবেল কবি বলা যায়। যখন কবি মানেই রাজ্যের পৃষ্ঠপোষকতা, তখন লি পো বরাবরই এসব থেকে দুরে থেকে যাযাববের মতো ঘুরে বেড়িয়েছেন। চীনের প্রাচীন দার্শনিক ধারা Wu Wei দিয়ে প্রভাবিত ছিলেন লি পো। Wu Wei মূলত কিছু না করা কিংবা স্বতঃস্ফূর্ততা বুঝায়। কোন কিছু চাপিয়ে না দিয়ে, কোন কিছুকে বিরক্ত না করে স্বতঃস্ফূর্ততাকে মেনে নেওয়া। লি পো’র কবিতাগুলো অনেকাংশেই মুক্ত ভার্স। ঠিক যেখানে অবস্থান করছেন সেই মুহুর্তের চিত্র এবং অনুভূতি। সামান্য কথায়, সামান্য মুহুর্ত। মনে হয় অনেক অনেক যুগ আগে চীনের কোন ছোট্ট জায়গায় পাতাদের ঝরে যাওয়া দেখছি, দেয়ালের গায়ে শ্যাওলা জমে যাওয়া দেখছি, বাতাসে শরত মেঘের গুঁড়ো, গুঁড়ো ভেসে যাওয়া দেখছি। কোন বিশাল ঘটনা না, কিন্তু অনেক অনেক আগের এইসব সামান্য দৃশ্য মনকে কেমন উদাস করে। জাগতিক হিসেব নিকেশের বাইরে এইসব সামান্য এবং অসমান্য কিছুকে আঁকড়ে ধরে ভালো থাকতে ইচ্ছে করে।

Lots of wrong translation by David Hinton. This book was firstly published in 1996. I guess there were very less people knowing Old Chinese words in the western countries at that time resulting in lots of severe mistakes in translation.

Ex. a part from Li Bai's 月下獨酌 / Drinking Alone Beneath The Moon

永結無情遊，相期邈雲漢。

David Hinton:
intimates forever, we’ll wander carefree
and meet again in Star River distances.

Literal (not aesthetic) meaning:
With feelingless friends bound forever,
Reunite at the distant Milky Way.

Note1: From the first phrase, by 無情, Li Bai referred to the moon and shadow that had no feelings, but he still considered them as friends here. 永結=(make) a forever bound/knot (=friendship). 遊=make friends.

Note2: I can't select the English word for 雲漢 that propers the period of time when the poem was composed, and just use the present-time translation of the word as Milky Way instead.