It means that the bright moon on the horizon rose to the treetops, scaring the magpies perched on the branches. The cool evening breeze seems to blow cicadas in the distance.
It's from Xin Qiji's "Xijiang Moon Walking in the Yellow Sand Road at Night" in the Northern Song Dynasty. The original text is:
The bright moon surprises the magpies, and the breeze chirps cicadas at midnight. The cool night breeze seemed to spread to the distant cicada.
seven or eight stars are out of the sky, and two or three points are in front of the rainy mountain. In the old days, Maodian was near the forest, and the road turned to the stream bridge.
Translation:
The bright moon on the horizon rose to the treetops, scaring away the magpies perched on the branches. The cool evening breeze seems to blow cicadas in the distance. In the aroma of rice, people talk about the harvest year, and there are waves of frogs in their ears, as if to say the harvest year.
Light clouds are floating in the sky, twinkling stars appear and disappear from time to time, and there is a light rain in front of the mountain. I hurried across the stream from the bridge to avoid the rain. In the past, where did the hut shop near the Woods near the Earth Temple go? Turning a corner, Maodian suddenly appeared in front of us.
Extended information
Creation background:
This is a word written by Xin Qiji when he passed Huangshaling Road in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province in his middle age.
Xin Qiji was a great official in the Southern Song Dynasty, but his heroic and open-minded remarks and decisive and capable style, especially his political proposition of advocating the resumption of the Anti-Japanese War, were met with envy from his colleagues and hit by the highest ruling class.
In the eighth year of Chunxi, Song Xiaozong (1181), Xin Qiji was excluded from office because of the traitor's exclusion, and returned to his home in Daihu, Shangrao, where he lived for nearly fifteen years, leading a retired life. During this period, although he also had a short official experience, he mostly lived in Shangrao, where he left many poems. This word is one of them.
Appreciation:
On the surface, the first two sentences of Xin Qiji's poem, "The bright moon surprises the magpie, and the breeze chirps in the middle of the night", describe the extremely ordinary scenery such as the wind, the moon, cicadas and magpies. However, after the clever combination of the author, the result is unusual in ordinary times.
The magpie's startled flight is uncertain, not hovering over the ordinary tree head, but flying around the abrupt branches. Because of the bright moonlight, the magpie was awakened; When a magpie is startled to fly, it will naturally cause other branches to sway.
At the same time, the chirping of cicadas has its own time. The chirping at night is different from the neighing under the scorching sun, and when the cool breeze blows slowly, it is often particularly quiet.
In a word, the sentences of "Surprising the Magpie" and "Singing the Cicada" contain quietness in the middle of the night, and describe the scenery under the "breeze" and "bright moon" in a leisurely and fascinating way.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Xijiang Moon Nights in Huangsha Road Middle School