再談酒仙李白 （Poet Li Po, the god of wine revisited)

Will Durant 寫李白跟杜甫時，很多跟俊雄兄所說的 overlap (this is a compliment to Will Durant, not to Charles, Durant 不懂中文沒辨法了解中國古典詩之美，but he knows enough to know what he should talk about). 記得 Mei-Yu and Charles 曾討論過李白的「將進酒」which may be the next post.

Durant wrote Li Po “consoled himself with wine, and became one of the Six Idlers of the Bamboo Grove,” who took life without haste, and let their songs and poems earn their uncertain bread. Hearing the wine of Niauchung highly commended, Li set out at once for that city, three hundred miles away.”

(我的中文翻譯）

李白借酒消愁），變成了竹林六賢之一 [不過有人說是竹林七賢，那一個對?] 消遙過日），靠賣詩詞為生，有時三餐不繼。有一次他聽到南昌 (?)的酒很有名，他馬上趕去300 浬外的南昌。

In his wondering he [Li Po] met Tu Fu, who was to be his rival for China’s poetic crown; they exchanged lyrics, went hand in hand like brothers, and slept under the same coverlet until fame divided them.  Everybody loved them, for they were as harmless as saints, and spoke with the same pride and friendliness to paupers and kings.  Finally they entered Chang-An; and the jolly minister Ho loved Li’s poetry so well that he sold gold ornaments to buy him drinks.  Tu Fu describes him:

(我的中文翻譯）

李白雲遊四方時碰到了杜甫；他們兩人是爭中國桂冠詩人的對手。他們交換詩句，手牽手，睡同一棉被稱兄道弟。後來功成名就，同行相忌而分手。眾人都很喜歡這兩位詩仙，対皇帝或乞丐都同等待遇，一樣的友善或自豪。他們終於來到了長安。何大臣非常喜歡李白的詩，賣了金飾請李白喝酒。下面是杜甫描述李白：

As for Li Po, give him a jugful,

He will write one hundred poems.

He dozes in a wine-shop

On a city-street of Chang-An;

And though his Sovereign calls,

He will not board the Imperial barge.

“Please, your majesty,” says he,

“I am a god of wine.”

李白斗酒詩百篇，

長安市上酒家眠，

天子呼來不上船，

自稱臣是酒中仙。

（剛剛收到 Charles 送來的 email, 正好可以解釋上面杜甫的詩)

Charles just sent the following email, in which he expresses his sincere sympathy to those who cannot indulge wines. He also lamented that Lin Yutang's failure to be a Nobel laureate in literature is due to the fact that Lin never got benefits of wine, which might further enhance his creativity and put him in a more sublime mood. 道美與我都已經收到了 Charles 的 「sympathy card」。有個朋友說他有次喝太多酒，他太太打他㡬個嘴巴也不醒，還要上急診室，下次應學李白的様，叫人給你潑一桶冷水。

Lin was nominated to Nobel prize twice, but Nobel laureates tend to be novelists or poets and that is not his strength, even though his Moment in Peking did ear high claim.

(Charles 送來的 email)

昨天晚上重讀了林語堂的一篇文章「飲酒」。他説他是不飲酒的，原因是他喝一點酒就會昏昏沉沉、東倒西歪。可是他說他不能跳過這一個題目，因為他知道酒對中國的文化貢獻很大，有助於人類的創造力。他了解一個人喝酒後那一種半醉半醒的境界，掦掦得意的表情，使他非常羡慕，可見他對自己的不能喝酒，感觉到遗憾萬千。

我讀了那篇文章後，我很同情林語堂，同時也同情我不能喝酒或不能多喝酒的朋友，更對那些不喝酒的朋友惋惜，因為他們沒享受過喝了酒後，那種飃飃欲仙，像處於人間天堂的感覺。杜甫寫李白的一首詩：「李白斗酒詩百篇，長安市上酒家眠，天子呼來不上船，自稱臣是酒中仙」。李白在長安市酒舫喝了一斗酒，就寫出了一百首詩，醉了就在那𥚃睡了一埸長覺，皇帝派人来要李白進宮做官，但李白拒不上船，他認為我是酒中仙人，我怎能夠受到委屈，替皇帝做事？這正是林語堂說的，喝醉了酒後，會揚掦得意，天不怕地也不怕，你皇帝是老幾？