Moonlit Night
- Poetry of Li Shangyin

《月夕》

English Translation

The autumn insects under the grass, the frost on the leaves –

The vermilion balustrade presses down the light on the lake.

The hare is chilly, the toad cold, the cassia flower white:

On such a night, Heng-o would surely break her heart.

This poem exemplifies the quintessential artistic features of Li Shangyin’s poetic oeuvre, including an ingenious conceptualization and an opulent, ornate stylistic register, and ranks among his most celebrated representative works of descriptive and lyrical verse.

中文原文( Chinese )

草下阴虫叶上霜，朱栏迢递压湖光。

兔寒蟾冷桂花白，此夜姮娥应断肠。

Pre： In the Camp of the Sketching Brush

Next：How I Long for the Capital’s Lantern Festival

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.

Moonlit Night - Poetry of Li Shangyin

Moonlit Night
- Poetry of Li Shangyin