(Photo: Chun Tao)
YongJiu (25) Zhang Xu: Listed in the "Eight Immortals in Drinking", "Water Margin" includes his "Drunken Song Line"
Yu Dazhong
The Tang Dynasty calligrapher Zhang Xu (張旭), also spelled Bogao , a character Jiming , a native of Wu County (now part of Suzhou, Jiangsu), was good at cursive writing, liked to drink, was known as "Zhang Qiang", listed as the "Eight Immortals in Drinking", and was called "Topsy-Chang Drunken Su" with Huai Su, and was called "Wuzhong Four Scholars" with He Zhizhang, Zhang Ruoxu, and Bao Rong. Emperor Wenzong of Tang, Li Ang, once issued an edict, taking Li Bai's poetry, Pei Min's sword dance, and Zhang Xu's cursive writing as the "three absolutes".
Zhang Xu's poems are also unique, known for their seven uniquenesses. "Water Margin" contains a poem by Zhang Xu's "Drunken Song Line". The full poem is as follows:
(Author: Cui Fengchun)
Jin Ouyi poured out his eyes and his eyes were white.
The long neck is like a jade rainbow, and the swallow is still narrow.
In the past years, before the Jade Emperor was served, there were no two or three guests for the enemy to drink.
The peach rots and ripe piles of coral, and the liquid is thick and puffy.
Drink hundreds of cups of liuxia, and the skin is moist and slightly red.
Heaven and earth heard of the flood of wine and persuaded them to receive three thousand stones.
Fei Xian advised me not to count, and the tincture was refreshing.
Dongjun ordered me to give me a new poem, laughing at the Three Mountains Wing Standard.
The pen was written into five hundred words, and he did not feel that he had fallen before the towel.
The feast was unconscious and did not remember home, and took advantage of the shock to mistakenly enter the Yunguang Mansion.
The fairy boy helped down the purple cloud, not distinguishing between east and west and north and south.
A thousand bells and a hundred poems, cursive writing scattered across the line.