BOOKMARK

Drinking Alone Under the Moon (1)

By Li Bai Tang Dynasty

English Poetic Translation

From a pot of wine amid the flowering trees,
I drink alone, with no companion near.
I raise my cup to invite the bright moon,
and turning to my shadow, we make three.

Yet the moon has no skill in drinking wine,
and my shadow merely follows my form.
Still, for a time, I take these two as friends,
making the most of spring while it is here.

When I sing, the moon lingers and sways;
when I dance, my shadow tangles and breaks.
While sober, we share our quiet revels;
when drunk, each goes their separate way.

Let us bind forever our emotionless wanderings,
and meet far off in the River of Stars.

Classical Chinese & Pinyin

花間一壺酒，獨酌無相親。
舉杯邀明月，對影成三人。
月既不解飲，影徒隨我身。
暫伴月將影，行樂須及春。
我歌月裴回，我舞影零亂。
醒時同交歡，醉後各分散。
永結無情遊，相期邈雲漢。

huā jiān yī hú jiǔ, dú zhuó wú xiāng qīn.
jǔ bēi yāo míng yuè, duì yǐng chéng sān rén.
yuè jì bù jiě yǐn, yǐng tú suí wǒ shēn.
zàn bàn yuè jiāng yǐng, xíng lè xū jí chūn.
wǒ gē yuè péi huí, wǒ wǔ yǐng líng luàn.
xǐng shí tóng jiāo huān, zuì hòu gè fēn sàn.
yǒng jié wú qíng yóu, xiāng qī miǎo yún hàn.

Philological Direct Translation

Among flowers a pot of wine,
alone drinking without companion.
Raising cup invite bright moon,
facing shadow become three persons.
Moon already not understand drinking,
shadow vainly follows my body.
Temporarily accompany moon taking shadow,
practicing joy must reach spring.
I sing moon wavers and wanders,
I dance shadow scatters and disarrays.
Sober time together share joy,
drunk after each scatter apart.
Forever bind unpassionate wandering,
mutually promise distant cloud Han.

Scholarly Exegesis & Cultural Commentary

I. Formal Poetic Architecture & Meter

This masterpiece is composed in the ancient style known as Ancient Verse, specifically a five-character gushi. Unlike the strictly regulated verse forms that dominated the high Tang period, this meter allows for fluid enjambment, variable tonal patterns, and rhyming changes. The poem flows through a single level-tone rhyme scheme that shifts gracefully, supporting the speaker's shifting psychological states from isolation to ecstatic communion and finally to ethereal transcendence.

II. Historical Chronology & Existential Impulse

Written during Li Bai's mature years when he experienced profound alienation from the imperial court in Chang'an, the poem captures the existential loneliness of the solitary genius. Excluded from active political service due to palace intrigues and his own untameable temperament, Li Bai turns inward, transforming physical isolation into a cosmic celebration. The psychological tension between earthly rejection and celestial belonging defines the core emotional impetus of the work.

III. Line-by-Line Exegesis & Allusion Decoding

The poem traces an arc from mundane solitude to mystical expansion, utilizing dramatic framing to dramatize the poet's inner life.

Lines 1-2 (Opening Couplet): Line 1 ("Among flowers a pot of wine") establishes a lush sensory setting, immediately counterbalanced in Line 2 ("alone drinking without companion") by stark human isolation.
Lines 3-4 (First Antithetical Turn): The speaker conjures companions out of emptiness in Line 3 ("Raising cup invite bright moon") and Line 4 ("facing shadow become three persons"), multiplying his ego across cosmos and projection.
Lines 5-6 (Second Antithetical Turn / Climax): Lines 5 and 6 ("Moon already not understand drinking / shadow vainly follows my body") introduce a poignant note of absurdity, acknowledging the cold, inanimate nature of his chosen companions.
Closing Lines (Resolving Couplet): The final couplet ("Forever bind unpassionate wandering / mutually promise distant cloud Han") elevates the drinking bout into a Daoist spiritual covenant beyond mortal sorrow.

IV. Cultural Symbolism & Key Metaphors

The poem relies heavily on traditional Daoist and cosmic imagery to reframe human suffering into cosmic harmony.

The Moon: Represents eternal clarity, transcendent detachment, and the ultimate companion for the poet who finds earthly society corrupt or incomprehensible.
The Shadow: Symbolizes the physical ego and the inseparable attachment to corporeal existence, which the poet both utilizes and distances himself from through wine and art.

V. Philosophical Core & Global Resonance

At its philosophical heart, the poem embodies a brilliant synthesis of Daoist detachment and aesthetic freedom. Rather than succumbing to despair over human isolation, the speaker co-opts the universe itself into his chamber, dissolving the boundaries between self, celestial body, and inanimate reflection. This transcendent embrace of solitude speaks universally across languages and eras, resonating with anyone who has sought solace in art and nature when abandoned by human society.