There's a gleam of green in an old bottle,
There's a stir of red in the quiet stove,
There's a feeling of snow in the dusk outside --
What about a cup of wine inside?
Original Poem:
「问刘十九」
白居易
绿蚁新醅酒，红泥小火炉。
晚来天欲雪，能饮一杯无？
Interpretation:
This poem is a small and very interesting poem made by the poet when he was relegated to Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. Using the poem as an invitation, he invites his friend Liu XIX to come and drink wine to eliminate the boredom in his own mind.
The first and second lines are about the warmth of the room, which is very tempting. The freshly brewed rice wine is light green in color, and the small fireplace made of red clay warms the wine and vegetables. The dancing fire in the small stove activated the poet’s thinking, and the poet was immediately warmed up and energized, longing to drink with his best friend and have a good talk to dispel the long time of depression.
The third and fourth stanzas are about the poet’s invitation to his friends. New wine, red stove, drinking alone, it will snow in the evening is a lonely and boring situation, but wine and friends are recognized by the world to appear together, the poet is eager to invite friends when it is to get rid of loneliness of a good medicine, intoxicating and natural. Can my good friend Liu XIX come to drink with us and get drunk together? The last line does not directly invite but asks whether Liu XIX can come is quite intriguing. Liu nineteen, refers to Liu Ke, Henan Dengfeng people, yuan and the end of the year, after the scholar, after living in Mount Lu, is the poet in the Jiangzhou only made friends. How could Liu XIX not travel to Bai Juyi in the face of the kind of deep love, the kind of longing shown by the sincere friendship?
This small poem, the poet to capture a moment of thought, at your fingertips. After the first line opens the door and points out the wine, it is rendered in layers. In rendering the seductive, but also leave a lingering flavor.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Bai Juyi (白居易), 772-846 AD, was originally from Taiyuan, then moved to Weinan in Shaanxi. Bai Juyi was the most prolific poet of the Tang Dynasty, with poems in the categories of satirical oracles, idleness, sentimentality, and miscellaneous rhythms, and the most influential poet after Li Bai Du Fu.
