Li Bai and Modernity: Drinking with Tao Qian

Abstract

In this essay I examine Li Bai’s relationship with Tao Qian/Yuanming, his poetic ancestor, through their poems on drinking and on the Double Nine Festival. Li Bai’s invitation to share wine with Tao takes the form of emulating his poetry. It also shows its impossibility, which is expressed in the form of unfulfilled longing. This awareness is what defines the modernity of Li Bai’s poetry.