Source: Tang Libai, "Into the Wine"

Selected passages:

Have you ever noticed how the water of the Yellow River flows out of heaven and into the ocean, never to return?

Have you noticed that the lovely hair in the bright mirror in the high room, although it is silky black in the morning, has turned into snow at night.

Oh, let a man with spirit take risks where he wants to go, and never point his golden cup at the moon empty! .

Since God has given talents, let them be used! As for the money, although it is scattered, it will get together again.

Cook a sheep, kill a cow, sharpen your appetite, and let me, 300 bowls, take a big drink! .

Translation:

Didn't you see the Yellow River falling from the sky and the waves rolling straight to the East China Sea and never coming back? Can't you see that your elderly parents are sighing in the mirror about their aging white hair? When they were young, their hair was all white. When you are proud of your life, you should indulge in joy and don't let this golden cup be empty for the bright moon.

Everyone's birth must have its own value and significance. With a stroke of the pen, gold can still be recovered. Let's have fun cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle. It's not too much to drink three hundred cups at a time!

Poetry appreciation

The first eight sentences of this poem describe the atmosphere of drinking. Fine wine vessels, strong wine quality, such as red beads, such as amber, tables are rare. The banquet was surrounded by songs and dances, and the drinkers were very comfortable. The last four sentences say that when the flowers fall at dusk in spring, it deepens the feeling that time flies, and advises people to be drunk for a long time and eat, drink and be merry in time.

Although other poets write poems about wine with their own characteristics, they are not so respected and widely praised. The whole poem is unique in its diction and sentence making.