Yuè YèMoonlit Night 月夜
Du Fu imagines his wife watching the same moon.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
今夜鄜州月
jīn yè fū zhōu yuè
闺中只独看
guī zhōng zhǐ dú kān
遥怜小儿女
yáo lián xiǎo ér nǚ
未解忆长安
wèi jiě yì cháng ān
香雾云鬟湿
xiāng wù yún huán shī
清辉玉臂寒
qīng huī yù bì hán
何时倚虚幌
hé shí yǐ xū huǎng
双照泪痕干
shuāng zhào lèi hén gān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 月夜.
English translation
Tonight the Fuzhou moon is watching from the sky;
Alone in your chamber you gaze with wistful eye.
Far off I pity our children, still so young and dear,
Too young to yearn for Chang'an or their father here.
Your fragrant cloudlike hair is wet with misty dew;
Your jade-white arms feel cold in the clear moonlight too.
When shall we lean by the thin curtain, side by side,
And watch the moon till tear-stains on both cheeks have dried?
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Instead of describing his own longing, Du Fu imagines his wife's: she is watching the moon alone, and the children are too small to understand. The tender, almost sensual details of her hair and arms bring her vividly close, even though she is far away. The last couplet looks to a future reunion when the same moon will shine on them together and their tears will finally dry. It is one of the great love poems written by a husband to a wife.
Background
Written in 756 when Du Fu was captured by rebels and held in Chang'an, while his wife and children were sheltering in Fuzhou (鄜州, in today's Shaanxi).
Key words
- 鄜州 Fūzhōu
- a town in northern Shaanxi
- 闺中 guī zhōng
- in the women's chamber
- 云鬟 yún huán
- coiled, cloud-like hair
- 虚幌 xū huǎng
- a thin, sheer curtain
About the poet: Du Fu
Du Fu (also romanized Tu Fu) lived through the An Lushan Rebellion, which tore apart the Tang empire and his own family life. His precise, compassionate poems record war, poverty and loyalty, earning him the titles "Sage of Poetry" and "poet-historian."
Lifetime: 712–770. Other famous works: Happy Rain on a Spring Night (春夜喜雨); The Prime Minister of Shu (蜀相); The Officer at Shihao Village (石壕吏); Thoughts While Traveling at Night (旅夜书怀); Qujiang (曲江); Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan (江南逢李龟年); Ballad of the Army Carts (兵车行); Moonlit Night (月夜); Spring View (春望); Climbing High (登高); Quatrain: Two Orioles (绝句·两个黄鹂鸣翠柳); On Yueyang Tower (登岳阳楼); My Thatched Hut Torn by the Autumn Wind (茅屋为秋风所破歌); Gazing at Mount Tai (望岳); A Guest Arrives (客至); Strolling by the River V (江畔独步寻花 其五); Strolling Alone by the River in Search of Flowers (江畔独步寻花); River Village (江村); Winter Solstice Eve (小至); Thinking of Li Bai on a Spring Day (春日忆李白); Easing the Heart by the Water Rail (水槛遣心); Quatrain (绝句); Casual Quatrain (绝句漫兴); For General Hua (赠花卿).
Names from this poem
More by Du Fu
- Spring View春望
- Quatrain (The River Blue)绝句
- Climbing High登高
- On Yueyang Tower登岳阳楼
- Happy Rain on a Spring Night春夜喜雨
- Meeting Li Guinian in Jiangnan江南逢李龟年
- Qujiang曲江
- The Officer at Shihao Village石壕吏