This is the original English translation of the renowned Chinese poem 《将进酒》(literally meaning I Will Drink) by Abby Lu.
Original Chinese:
《将进酒》, 李白
君不見黃河之水天上來，奔流到海不復回。
君不見高堂明鏡悲白髮，朝如青絲暮成雪。
人生得意須盡歡，莫使金樽空對月。
天生我材必有用，千金散盡還復來。
烹羊宰牛且爲樂，會須一飲三百杯。
岑夫子，丹丘生。將進酒，杯莫停。
與君歌一曲，請君爲我側耳聽。
鐘鼓饌玉不足貴，但願長醉不願醒。
古來聖賢皆寂寞，惟有飲者留其名。
陳王昔時宴平樂，斗酒十千恣讙謔。
主人何為言少錢？徑須沽取對君酌。
五花馬，千金裘。呼兒將出換美酒，與爾同銷萬古愁。
English Translation (Including Title):
“Future Indulgence,” Li Bai
Look, the Yellow River’s waves roll from the sky, running to the ocean, never to return.
Look, the melancholy of white hair in front of a clear glass, like green silk at dawn and snow at dusk.
Life’s triumphs must serve indulgence, let not an empty golden grail face the moon.
My innate talents will prove value, the dispersion of a thousand gold will reunite.
For pleasure we slaughter cattle and cook lambs, drink in cups of three hundreds.
Fuzi Cen, Dan Qiu Sheng. Future indulgences, ceaseless cup.
Song a tune for you, please listen with tilted ears for me.
Decadence in sound and taste do not satisfy, if only for a long drunkenness with no awakening.
Only loneliness accompanies saints and sages, only drinkers mark History.
King Chen dined in ancient luxury, ten thousand for a jug, drenched in pleasure.
Why do you worry about the money in your hands? Just enough for a jug of wine for you and me.
Fancy horses, a coat worth ten thousands coins, trade them all for fine wine.
Let us drink to eternal indulgence and cast away the sorrow of ten thousand years.
Note:
Honestly, translating this was difficult. There are so many nuances in the Chinese language that can’t be translated into English. Because Chinese is a concise language, each character houses multiple meanings that cannot be captured into a single, all-encompassing word. That said, a lot of the East Asian sentiments in this work are not as stressed in Western culture, like the focus on the transient and melancholic instead of the perfect and eternal.
Li Bai is one of the most renowned ancient Chinese poets. He lived over 1300 years ago in 700 A.D. His works focus on the enjoyment of life, and the sorrows that come from it. His works are nothing short of beautiful. I hope to bring this part of Chinese culture and this ancient beauty that has dwelled in Chinese people for so long.
I think cultural understandings like this are the key to mending our broken society, and close the ever-widening gap between people. Hopefully, my translation work will bring the nuances of Chinese cultural to people of the world.
About the Author:
Abby Lu
See About page.
The Big Duck 