The “Golden Age of China”, Tang Dynasty (唐朝, 618-907 AD) was indeed the most vibrantly cultural period in the nation’s history, and the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Li Bai (李白, 701-762 AD), possibly the most acclaimed Chinese poet of all times, was a child of this era.
Indulging in wine was a socially accepted form of seeking inspiration among poets, even bestowing upon some a transcendental status. One of the “Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup”, Li Bai was never considered drunk, but rather “mentally carried away from his normal preoccupations”, as is obvious from one of his most famous poems: