The Moon over the Eyebrow Mountains
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
The crescent moon looks like old Autumn's golden brow,
Its deep reflection flows with limpid water blue.
I'll leave the town on Clear Stream for Three Gorges now.
O Moon, how I miss you when you are out of view!
This poem was composed in 725 AD, when Li Bai left his hometown in Sichuan and traveled east along the Yangtze River. During his journey, he set off at night from Qingxi, passed by Mount Emei and the Pingqiang River, and eventually headed toward the Three Gorges and Yuzhou. At this time, Li Bai was young and ambitious, eager to explore the world and achieve great deeds. However, as he sailed under the moonlight with the river flowing by, the scenery stirred his emotions, and he couldn't help but think of a distant friend, leading him to write this highly evocative and emotionally resonant poem.
峨眉山月半轮秋，影入平羌江水流。
夜发清溪向三峡，思君不见下渝州。
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.