Observing the Moon
- Poetry of Li Bai (Li Po)
When I was young, I did not know what the moon was,
And thought it to be a white jade plate.
Or maybe a mirror hanging from the sky,
Floating in the crystal blue clouds.
Li Bai recalls his innocent observations of the moon as a child. With vivid imagery detailing the specifics of his imagination, Li conveys the beauty of a child’s observations. He prefaces his poem by warning readers that he did not understand the moon when he was younger, and believed it to be exquisite objects like 白玉盘 (a white jade plate) or 镜 (a mirror). The vivid colors used to describe the placement of the full moon in the dark sky — 白玉盘 (white jade plate) in the middle of 青云端 (crystal blue sky) — reveals the ability of simple words to create strikingly beautiful imagery.
小时不识月，呼作白玉盘。
又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端。
- 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.