Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"

Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"

Fujiwara no Yukinari (Kōzei)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The highly skilled courtier-calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari earned a reputation as the consolidator of wayō (Japanese-style) calligraphy. The poet Bai Juyi’s collected works had a greater influence on Murasaki’s tale than any other Chinese work. The lines from Bai’s autobiographical statement read: Therefore, he called himself the “Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation.” Now in the third year of the Kaicheng reign era [838], he has reached the age of sixty-seven. Though his beard has turned white, his head is half bald, and his teeth are falling out, his enjoyment of wine and poetry has not diminished. Turning to his wife, he said, “Before now I have always been at ease, but from now on, I do not know if I can enjoy these pleasures in the same way.” —Translation by John T. Carpenter

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"Excerpt from Bai Juyi's "Autobiography of a Master of Drunken Poetry Recitation"

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.