Full text of Moon Night
Liu Fangping of Tang Dynasty
The moonlight is deeper than half of the house, and the North Dipper is tilted towards the south.
Tonight I know that the spring air is warm, and the sound of insects is new through the green window screen.
Translation
The night was quieter and the moonlight only illuminated half of the house, while the other half was hidden in the darkness. The Big Dipper is tilted, and the South Dipper is also tilted.
Tonight you know that spring is coming, because you hear the chirping of insects outside the window screen that is reflected in the green leaves, and for the first time it comes to the house.
Appreciation
In Tang poetry, there are many poems with spring and moon as their themes. Some people feel nostalgic for the scenery of Wing Chun, or they feel emotional when looking at the bright moon. This poem writes about spring, not only does it not start from things like willows, green and pink, but it uses the night to cover up the things that seem to be the most characteristic of spring scenery. When writing about the moon, it does not describe its light and shadow in detail, nor laments its roundness and imperfection; Instead, it only adds half of the moonlight in the night, so that the night is not too dark and the moonlight is not too bright, creating a hazy and harmonious melody.
The word "deeper" is revealed at the beginning of this poem, which sets the tone for the description of the following scenery and also gives the whole poem a special atmosphere. "Moonlight half a house" is the embodiment of the word "deeper", and the following sentence "the North Dipper is in the sky and the South Dipper is slanting" is the symbol of "deeper" in the night sky. The two sentences together create a quiet spring night and a profound artistic conception. The moonlight is half shining because the moon is tilting to the west, and the poem is set against the stars. This forms an internal connection between the two sentences.
On a quiet spring night, the growth and transformation of all things are hidden. "Tonight I know that the spring air is warm, and the sound of insects is new through the green window screen." This is a beautiful sentence that the poet came up with as an opportunity to experience nature wholeheartedly. Knowing the cold and warm weather from the microscopic insect infestation shows that the poet has a deep foundation in rural life. therefore. These two sentences are beyond the reach of ordinary people. Of course, people who have no long-term experience in rural life cannot tell; even if they live in the countryside, not everyone can tell. The insect chirping tonight, whether it is the first time or several times, who will pay attention to it? This requires a thoughtful person, and he should also have a poetic heart. The word "new" is full of deep affection for rural life, which means freshness and joy.
The poem says that "spring air warms" starting "tonight", which shows that it is very sensitive to seasonal changes, and the word "biased" is full of contentment. When writing about hearing the sound of insects through the window, use "through". Gives people a sense of vitality. The green color of the window screen cannot be seen at night. This greenery comes from the spring in the poet's heart. At this point, we can understand: the reason why the poet does not describe the bright external landscape as a symbol of spring. Instead, it uses the late night scenery and atmosphere to enhance the artistic conception of the poem, because this poem comes from the poet's heart. The poet observes the subtle changes in nature with a pure heart. The first two sentences of the poem describe the scenery without a hint of spring. But it secretly relates to the meaning of spring, which is quite implicit. The third sentence is "spring is warm". The "insect sound" and "green window screen" at the end of the sentence reflect each other. So the mood of spring is full. But sound and color still come from "meaning" (feeling). The poet does not know that spring has warmed only from the "sound of insects". "Warm spring" is the poet's subtle feeling about "tonight", and the "sound of insects" is just a phenology that coincides with his feeling. Therefore, the meaning of poetry is profound. The novelty and uniqueness of the idea is determined by the uniqueness of the experience. Pastoral poetry in the Tang Dynasty became an important genre, and there were many famous writers. However. It is rare to see someone who can be as good as one or two of Tao's poems. Like this poem, it is deeply interesting in the pottery style. Even more rare. As for whether there is any hidden emotional sustenance in this poem, there is no evidence of it in the literal meaning, so it is difficult to find out.
About the author
Liu Fangping (lived around 758) was a native of Luoyang, Henan, during the Tang Dynasty. Huns. In the early days of Tianbao's career, he applied for Jinshi examination and wanted to join the army, but failed. From then on, he lived in seclusion on the banks of Yingshui and Ruhe rivers and remained in office all his life. He was a poet friend with Huangfu Ran, Yuan Dexiu, Li Qi and Yan Wu, and was appreciated by Xin Yingshi. He is good at poetry and landscape painting. Most of his poems are about objects and scenery, and he is especially good at quatrains. Most of his poems are about boudoir love and homesickness. Their ideological content is relatively poor, but their artistic quality is high. He is good at embodying emotions in scenery and has infinite meaning. His "Moonlight Night", "Spring Resentment", "New Year", "Autumn Night Boating", etc. are all famous works that have always been recited.