Summons to Wine - Li He
/致酒行 - 李贺/
A Fierce Toast Amid Fate’s Uncertainties
朝来叩閽者为谁子，
Who pounds at the palace gates at break of dawn—whose son might he be?
蚩尤大星立门里。
A great star of Chiyou stands guard within those doors.
白虎张鬐坐嵩山，
A white tiger flares its bristles, seated at Mount Song,
玄武昂首吟风起。
While the Dark Warrior raises his head, chanting up the rising winds.
请看石上藤萝蔓，
Look well at the creeping vines upon the stone,
莫遣疏狂致身死。
Lest careless frenzy bring one to an untimely end.
春阳如膏策羸马，
Spring sunshine flows like oil, spurring on a weary steed;
岁寒未保花枝少。
Yet who can promise flowers remain when winter strikes?
方逢酒伴鬓如丝，
Just now I meet a companion in wine, hair already silvered;
休鞭羸马向东都。
Spare the whip on this frail mount that heads for the eastern capital.
何须更怀边塞苦，
Why still brood upon the bitterness of frontier outposts?
长佯痴聋学卧徒。
Better to feign deaf-mute ignorance, lying down as if idle—carefree to the end.
Who pounds at the palace gates at break of dawn—whose son might he be?
蚩尤大星立门里。
A great star of Chiyou stands guard within those doors.
白虎张鬐坐嵩山，
A white tiger flares its bristles, seated at Mount Song,
玄武昂首吟风起。
While the Dark Warrior raises his head, chanting up the rising winds.
请看石上藤萝蔓，
Look well at the creeping vines upon the stone,
莫遣疏狂致身死。
Lest careless frenzy bring one to an untimely end.
春阳如膏策羸马，
Spring sunshine flows like oil, spurring on a weary steed;
岁寒未保花枝少。
Yet who can promise flowers remain when winter strikes?
方逢酒伴鬓如丝，
Just now I meet a companion in wine, hair already silvered;
休鞭羸马向东都。
Spare the whip on this frail mount that heads for the eastern capital.
何须更怀边塞苦，
Why still brood upon the bitterness of frontier outposts?
长佯痴聋学卧徒。
Better to feign deaf-mute ignorance, lying down as if idle—carefree to the end.
“Summons to Wine” (《致酒行》) is one of Li He’s poems that blends mythic allusions, martial imagery, and an almost existential yearning for freedom in the face of fate’s hardships. The title itself suggests an urgent call to share wine, set against an undercurrent of foreboding or regret. Throughout the poem, Li He displays his trademark style of abrupt imagery, cosmic references, and a call to seize life’s fleeting pleasures.
1. **Mythic and Martial Elements**: Figures like Chiyou (蚩尤), a warrior-deity from ancient legend, and the White Tiger (symbolizing the West in Chinese cosmology) or the Dark Warrior (玄武, representing the North) evoke a world of formidable powers. These references suggest that the poet’s concerns transcend mundane affairs; he hints at cosmic or legendary influences shaping mortal destinies.
2. **Warnings Against Recklessness**: The vine-covered stones and caution against ‘careless frenzy’ underscore the poem’s tension between boldness and the potential self-destruction that can follow. Li He suggests both a fascination with heroic risk and an awareness that unchecked audacity can lead to an untimely end.
3. **Ephemerality of Youth and Beauty**: Seasonal markers—spring sunshine, pending winter, and the mention of hair turning silver—reveal the poem’s preoccupation with time’s relentless passage. Even as spring nurtures new vitality, it cannot guard flowers from the cold, mirroring how human vigor inevitably fades.
4. **Dismissal of Frontier Hardship**: Tang-era poets frequently wrote about border campaigns, exile, and the trials of defending the empire’s edges. Here, Li He questions whether it’s worth dwelling on such woes, suggesting it might be better to live in the moment—‘feigning deaf and mute’—than to remain crushed by burdensome duty.
5. **Call to Wine and Companionship**: The poet’s solution to life’s transient sorrows is a hasty alliance with wine and kindred spirits. This stance parallels a familiar theme in Chinese poetry: that fleeting camaraderie and the consolations of drink can, however briefly, fend off encroaching troubles.
In sum, “Summons to Wine” embodies Li He’s unique synthesis of the cosmic, the mythic, and the tangibly human. He urges us to reflect on duty, ambition, transience, and the precarious nature of fortune, all in a style that leaps effortlessly between everyday reality and grand legend. Whether cautioning against reckless abandon or celebrating it, Li He reminds readers that life is a precarious balance: bold actions and quiet resignation both shape the drama of our mortal journey.
Key points
• Merges mythical references (Chiyou, White Tiger, Dark Warrior) with real-life anxieties.
• Balances a spirited call to enjoy wine against the cautionary note of life’s fragility.
• Leans on seasonal imagery (spring warmth, impending winter) to underscore time’s swift passage.
• Encourages living authentically amid cosmic uncertainties—whether by daring feats or by ‘playing deaf.’
• Typical of Li He’s poetry: dense allusions, abrupt shifts, and a tone that oscillates between heroic longing and sober reflection.
