客中行 (李白)
兰陵美酒郁金香，玉碗盛来琥珀光。
但使主人能醉客，不知何处是他乡。
Journey to a Foreign Land (Li Bai)
Lanling’s pleasing wine spreads the fragrance of tulips,
My jade bowl, once filled, emits an amber hue.
As the host can intoxicate me with this wine,
I no longer know where my hometown lies.
Interpretation
Residing in a foreign land, Li Bai longs to return to his hometown. However, throughout this poem, Li reveals how a pleasing scent has the ability to make his nostalgia and homesickness reside temporarily. The poet begins with sensory descriptions of the fine wine of Lanling, describing the smell and color of the wine: the wine gives off the fragrance of 郁金 (tulips), a universal symbol of beauty, and glows with 琥珀光 (an amber hue). Known as a man who loved to drink wine, Li reveals that this Lanling wine holds special in his heart through his detailed descriptions of the wine itself as well as the valuable 玉碗 (jade bowl or cup) that he uses to hold the wine in. The joy that observing and drinking this wine gives him allows the poet to transcend his wallowing sadness and experience momentary pleasure — pleasure coming from a state of oblivion.
From Meter to Meaning 
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