Lauren Park
NES 2522: Intoxicating Beverages
Christopher Monroe
Friday, November 17, 2017
Drunkenness as the Ultimate Sobriety Ding Xiang Warner and Wang Ji provide a discussion of the role of poetry in the late Sui and early Tange eras in the history of China with the help of Wang Ji’s poetry. They present Biography of Mr. Five Dippers and The Story of Drunkenville to show the comparable relationship between the experiences of being drunk and enlightened man’s perception of fundamental philosophical ideas. According to the authors, poetry was used by Wang Ji to show that drunkenness was a symbol of the illusive nature, or the way of knowledge during the period of enlightenment. This argument concurs with the notes of the course which suggest …show more content…
As stated by Warner, Ji’s poems give a clear picture of the role of drinking in the ancient Chinese societies. According to Ji, drinking helps to cleanse the body and soul, and clear the mind. This point is unique because the past scholars engaged in drunkenness to distract themselves from worldly cares, yet Warner argues that Ji’s purpose of drinking was to achieve an ultimate sobriety of the mind. In this case, it is clear that Chinese people in his time and even earlier were used to drinking, but for some people it was meant to prevent the mind from thinking; and for others like Ji, it was used to open up the mind to intellectual engagement and the development of philosophical …show more content…
Unlike his models, Ji was involved in drunkenness as a metaphor of his enlightened way of knowledge. He depicts an unknowable and unpredictable character common among enlightened men who keep searching for knowledge about the nature and patterns of the world. He engages in drinking as a personal endeavor to sobriety and stupor, so that he can relieve himself of the worries of the world and clear his mind to think about the illusory knowledge of the ever-changing world. Drunkenness gives him wisdom in his scholarly pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, drunkenness was part of Chinese culture that helped the people to achieve their personal and social ends depending on their roles and careers in
NES 2522: Intoxicating Beverages
Christopher Monroe
Friday, November 17, 2017
Drunkenness as the Ultimate Sobriety Ding Xiang Warner and Wang Ji provide a discussion of the role of poetry in the late Sui and early Tange eras in the history of China with the help of Wang Ji’s poetry. They present Biography of Mr. Five Dippers and The Story of Drunkenville to show the comparable relationship between the experiences of being drunk and enlightened man’s perception of fundamental philosophical ideas. According to the authors, poetry was used by Wang Ji to show that drunkenness was a symbol of the illusive nature, or the way of knowledge during the period of enlightenment. This argument concurs with the notes of the course which suggest …show more content…
As stated by Warner, Ji’s poems give a clear picture of the role of drinking in the ancient Chinese societies. According to Ji, drinking helps to cleanse the body and soul, and clear the mind. This point is unique because the past scholars engaged in drunkenness to distract themselves from worldly cares, yet Warner argues that Ji’s purpose of drinking was to achieve an ultimate sobriety of the mind. In this case, it is clear that Chinese people in his time and even earlier were used to drinking, but for some people it was meant to prevent the mind from thinking; and for others like Ji, it was used to open up the mind to intellectual engagement and the development of philosophical …show more content…
Unlike his models, Ji was involved in drunkenness as a metaphor of his enlightened way of knowledge. He depicts an unknowable and unpredictable character common among enlightened men who keep searching for knowledge about the nature and patterns of the world. He engages in drinking as a personal endeavor to sobriety and stupor, so that he can relieve himself of the worries of the world and clear his mind to think about the illusory knowledge of the ever-changing world. Drunkenness gives him wisdom in his scholarly pursuit of knowledge. Therefore, drunkenness was part of Chinese culture that helped the people to achieve their personal and social ends depending on their roles and careers in