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Qiāng Jìn JiǔBring In the Wine 将进酒

Li Bai (李白, also known as Li Po, Li Taibai)｜High Tang｜yuefu ballad (mixed line lengths)

Li Bai's roaring drinking song about time, talent and joy.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

君不见黄河之水天上来
jūn bù jiàn huáng hé zhī shuǐ tiān shàng lái

奔流到海不复回
bēn liú dào hǎi bù fù huí

君不见高堂明镜悲白发
jūn bù jiàn gāo táng míng jìng bēi bái fà

朝如青丝暮成雪
zhāo rú qīng sī mù chéng xuě

人生得意须尽欢
rén shēng dé yì xū jìn huān

莫使金樽空对月
mò shǐ jīn zūn kōng duì yuè

天生我材必有用
tiān shēng wǒ cái bì yǒu yòng

千金散尽还复来
qiān jīn sàn jìn huán fù lái

Simplified characters; traditional title: 將進酒. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.

English translation

Do you not see the Yellow River's waters coming down from the sky,

rushing to the sea, never to return?

Do you not see, in the bright mirror of the high hall, the grief of white hair —

black silk at morning, by evening turned to snow?

When life goes your way, take your joy to the full;

never let the golden cup face the moon empty.

Heaven has made us talents, we're not made in vain.

A thousand gold coins spent, more will turn up again.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

Line by line

君不见黄河之水天上来 · jūn bù jiàn huáng hé zhī shuǐ tiān shàng lái — Do you not see the Yellow River's waters coming down from the sky,

奔流到海不复回 · bēn liú dào hǎi bù fù huí — rushing to the sea, never to return?

君不见高堂明镜悲白发 · jūn bù jiàn gāo táng míng jìng bēi bái fà — Do you not see, in the bright mirror of the high hall, the grief of white hair —

朝如青丝暮成雪 · zhāo rú qīng sī mù chéng xuě — black silk at morning, by evening turned to snow?

人生得意须尽欢 · rén shēng dé yì xū jìn huān — When life goes your way, take your joy to the full;

莫使金樽空对月 · mò shǐ jīn zūn kōng duì yuè — never let the golden cup face the moon empty.

天生我材必有用 · tiān shēng wǒ cái bì yǒu yòng — Heaven has made us talents, we're not made in vain.

千金散尽还复来 · qiān jīn sàn jìn huán fù lái — A thousand gold coins spent, more will turn up again.

Meaning and imagery

Two great "Do you not see" sweeps open the song: the Yellow River pouring from heaven and never returning, and a lifetime compressed into a single day, black hair at dawn and white by dusk. Having made time terrifying, Li Bai answers with defiance — drink now, trust your gifts, money comes and goes. The long, irregular lines imitate the river's surge and the rhythm of a toast. Behind the bravado is disappointment at a career that never fulfilled his talent, which gives the celebration its edge.

Background

Probably written around 752 while Li Bai, having left the court, was drinking with his friends Cen Xun and Yuan Danqiu. The title is an old yuefu (folk-song) title meaning "Please Drink." Only the famous opening is shown here; the full poem is much longer.

Key words

将 qiāng: "please" (read qiāng in this title, not jiāng)
君不见 jūn bù jiàn: "do you not see" — a formula of ballad poetry
青丝 qīng sī: black hair, literally "dark silk"
金樽 jīn zūn: golden wine vessel

About the poet: Li Bai

Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.

Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).