Drinking Alone Beneath the Moon 2, Li Bai

[lnhammer]

If heaven had no love for wine,
The Wine Star wouldn’t be in heaven.
If earth as well did not love wine,
Earth wouldn’t have a Wine Spring Town.
Since heaven and earth thus both love wine,
My loving wine’s no shame to heaven.
I’ve heard that clear wine suits the holy,
The rule that cloudy’s for the worthy—
Since holy and worthy already drink,
Why should I then seek an immortal?
Three cups partake the Confucian Path,
One ladle unites the Daoist Law—
But I am focused only on wine,
And can’t teach this to one awake!

月下独酌 之二
天若不爱酒，
酒星不在天。
地若不爱酒，
地应无酒泉。
天地既爱酒，
爱酒不愧天。
已闻清比圣，
复道浊如贤。
贤圣既已饮，
何必求神仙。
三杯通大道，
一斗合自然。
但得酒中趣，
勿为醒者传。

I feel like I’ve wandered into the chambers of a 17th century university student. Most of the casuistic wordplay comes through, but one pun was untranslatable: 圣 means “holy (person)” and 贤 means “worthy (person),” but 圣贤 can mean both “holy (person) and worthy (person)” and “a sage.” The Wine Star, also called Wine Banner Star, is a legits star, and Wine Spring (Jiuquan) is a legits city in Gansu. The Great Path is a Confucian term for the laws of nature, and the Laws of Nature is the Daoist equivalent—the schools are added as glosses incorporated into the text.

I see why part 1 was preferred over this. Let’s see if part 3 is better…

—L.

Comments

[sartorias]

Yeah it's okay but not as lovely as the first one