On a Spring Day

It’s like boundless dream here in this
world, nothing anywhere to trouble us.

I have, therefore, been drunk all day,
a shambles of sleep on the front porch.

Coming to, I look into the courtyard.
There’s a bird among blossoms calling,

and when I ask what season this is,
an oriole’s voice drifts on spring winds.

Overcome, verging on sorrow and lament,
I pour another drink. Soon, awaiting

this bright moon, I’m chanting a song.
And now it’s over, I’ve forgotten why.

Translated by David Hinton

Li Po (AD 701–762) and Tu Fu are traditionally celebrated as the two greatest poets in the Chinese canon. David Hinton’s translation of Li Po’s poetry is no less an achievement than his critically acclaimed The Selected Poems of Tu Fu, also published by Anvil. Li Po’s work is suffused with Taoism and Zen Buddhism, and the pure lyricism of his poems has awed readers in China and Japan for over a thousand years. Called ‘the Banished Immortal’, Li Po was seen as an exiled spirit moving through this world with an unearthly ease and freedom from attachment.

David Hinton’s versions reflect the ambiguity and density of Li Po’s originals. They are compelling English poems that alter our conception of Chinese poetry.