Minneapolis Institute of Art

Du Fu's Eight Immortals Indulged in Wine

Kitajima Setsuzan

Date

second half 17th century

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The “Eight Immortals Indulged in Wine” is a poem attributed to the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712–770) which paints a satirical picture of his fellow literati scholars and was a popular subject for Chinese and Japanese artists and calligraphers. 知章騎馬似乘船 眼花落井水底眠 汝阳三斗始朝 / 天 道逢麴車口流涎 恨不移封向酒泉 左相日興費萬錢 飲如長 / 鯨吸百川 銜杯樂聖稱避賢。宗之瀟灑美少年 舉觴白眼望 / 青天 皎如玉樹臨風前 蘇晉長齋繡佛前 醉中往往愛逃禪 / 李白一斗詩百篇 長安市上酒家眠 天子呼來不上船 自 / 稱臣是酒中仙 張旭三杯草聖傳 脫帽露頂王公前 揮毫落紙 / 如雲煙 焦遂五斗方卓然 高談雄辯驚四筵 He Zhizhang rides his horse as though he were on a swaying ship; / If bleary-eyed he should tumble down a well, he would lie at the bottom fast asleep. / Prince Ruyang drinks three measures before going to court; / If he passes a brewer’s cart along the way, his mouth waters— / He regrets only that he is not the Prince of Wine Springs. / The Minister of the Left spends ten thousand coins daily, / And drinks like a whale, imbibing one hundred rivers; holding his wine cup he insists, “I drink as a sage and avoid virtue.” / Songzhi, a handsome youth, is exceedingly refined; / Turning his gaze to the heavens and grasping his beloved cup, / He stands like a tree of jade, swaying lightly in the breeze. / The ascetic Su Jin meditates before an embroidered image of the Buddha, / But he enjoys his lapses when he goes off on a spree. / As for Li Bai, one measure will inspire a hundred poems; / He sleeps in the wineshops of the capital, Chang-an. / When summoned by the Emperor, he will not board the Imperial barge; / He calls himself “The official who is the god of wine.” / Give three cupfuls to the calligrapher Zhang Xu and his writing becomes inspired— / He throws off his cap before the officials and his brush produces cloud and mist. / After five measures Jiao Sui is so eloquent, he startles everyone in the feasting hall. (Adapted trans. Stephen Addiss) Asia

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