tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post4390622744018088914..comments2024-03-26T01:52:45.563-07:00Comments on Fred's Place: Li Po: "Drinking Alone in Moonlight"Fredhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-50648233686479266522017-06-10T08:18:26.654-07:002017-06-10T08:18:26.654-07:00Mary,
Yes, I find that good literature and good p...Mary,<br /><br />Yes, I find that good literature and good poetry can be read several ways, depending upon the reader.<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-49167097206157329372017-06-09T22:00:02.258-07:002017-06-09T22:00:02.258-07:00Metaphor for enlightenment... But reads either way...Metaphor for enlightenment... But reads either wayAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05797305556717202215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-74826106709411805542017-03-27T08:25:29.009-07:002017-03-27T08:25:29.009-07:00Mudpuddle,
Drunkenness seems to me to be a strang...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />Drunkenness seems to me to be a strange "metaphorical method . . . intended to convey the quality and condition of enlightenment," Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-46436931693147978452017-03-26T11:39:04.463-07:002017-03-26T11:39:04.463-07:00Fred and Tim: according to Arthur Waley, who shou...Fred and Tim: according to Arthur Waley, who should know if anyone does, LiPo wasn't that great of a drunk... he says it was a metaphorical method, at the date, intended to convey the quality and condition of enlightenment, which, as i've indicated previously, has to do with living in the moment and recognizing one's surround as essentially "mu", meaning vacant, or empty.... this resulting from realizing the insubstantiality of what we know as reality...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-3558957193069697012017-03-26T08:21:08.061-07:002017-03-26T08:21:08.061-07:00Tim,
Yes and no. I did expect some strong reacti...Tim,<br /><br />Yes and no. I did expect some strong reaction to a poem that celebrates drunkenness, but I would never have guessed from where it would come.<br /><br />I see no benefits arising from being drunk, except for being only a temporary escape from reality. The same holds true for the sense of illusory enlightenment brought on by LSD or peyote or any of the other mind-altering drugs.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-24132405842298234032017-03-25T17:15:39.862-07:002017-03-25T17:15:39.862-07:00Here is a purely subjective reader response: mind ...Here is a purely subjective reader response: mind altering substances nearly killed me once upon a time, so I have an aversion to Li Po's lyric. But isn't that often the essence of reading: personal reaction? I regret that I cannot read this one more favorably. Now that probably was not the kind of reaction you anticipated. Right?RTDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17113953356514605424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-49721868145105224212017-03-25T08:24:16.621-07:002017-03-25T08:24:16.621-07:00Mudpuddle,
Thanks for posting the poem. I hadn...Mudpuddle,<br /><br />Thanks for posting the poem. I hadn't seen that one before. I had read that Li Po was the most famous of the "drunken poets," so apparently there were several poets known for their celebration of the vine.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-897228097627164771.post-73257723873131752752017-03-24T15:32:11.804-07:002017-03-24T15:32:11.804-07:00"Life in the world is but a big dream;
I will..."Life in the world is but a big dream;<br />I will not spoil it by any labor or care."<br />So saying, I was drunk all day,<br />Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door.<br />When I woke up I looked into the garden court;<br />A single bird was singing amid the flowers.<br /><br />I asked myself, what season is this?<br />Restless the oriole chatters in the spring breeze.<br />Moved by its song I soon began to sigh<br />And as wine was there, I filled my own cup.<br />Noisily singing I waited for the moon to rise;<br />When my song was over, all my senses had gone.<br /><br />(trans. Arthur Waley, The Poetry and Career of LiPo)<br /><br />so, it's not just the translation, i guess, it's the way he really was...?Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.com