1. "Thoughts on a Quiet Night"
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
There is a bright moonlight in front of the bed, which is suspected to be frost on the ground.
Look up at the bright moon and lower your head to think about your hometown.
Translation:
The bright moonlight shines on the window paper in front of the bed, as if there is a layer of frost on the ground. I couldn't help but raise my head and look at the bright moon in the sky outside the window that day. I couldn't help but lower my head and think about my hometown far away.
2. "One of Four Poems for Drinking Alone Under the Moon"
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
A pot of wine among the flowers, drinking alone without any blind date. Raise a glass to invite the bright moon, and make three people in the shadows. The moon doesn't know how to drink, and its shadow follows me.
While the moon is about to be shadowed, we must have fun until spring. My singing moon lingers, my dancing shadows are scattered. They make love together when they are awake, but they separate when they are drunk.
We will travel together forever, and we will meet each other in Miao Yunhan.
Translation:
Put a pot of fine wine among the flowers, drink it by yourself, and have no friends or relatives. Raise a glass to invite the bright moon and become three people facing the figure. Of course Mingyue doesn't know how to drink, and her figure just follows me. I had no choice but to become drinking companions with them temporarily. If I want to have fun, I must seize the beautiful spring time.
When I sing, the bright moon lingers, and when I dance, my figure is scattered. We rejoice together when we are awake, but separate when we are drunk. I would like to form a friendship with them forever that will forget the pain, and meet by the misty Milky Way.
3. "Gu Lang Yue Xing"
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
When he was young, he didn't know the moon, so he called it a white jade plate. I also suspected that the Yao Tai Mirror was flying in the blue clouds. The immortal has his legs hanging down, and the osmanthus tree is not round.
The white rabbit pounded the medicine and asked who he wanted to eat with? The toad has eroded its round shadow, and the bright night has faded away. Yi Xi fell into the Nine Crows, and heaven and man were clear and peaceful.
The Yin essence has fallen into confusion, and it is not enough to understand it. What's wrong with it? The sadness is heartbreaking.
Translation:
When I was a child, I didn’t know the moon, so I called it a white jade plate. He also suspected that it was a fairy mirror from Yaotai, flying above the blue clouds in the night sky. Does the fairy in the moon hang his feet? Why does the laurel tree grow round in the middle of the moon? Who is the elixir made by the white rabbit for? The toad gnawed the full moon into pieces, making the bright moon dim and unclear.
Hou Yi shot down nine suns, and disasters were avoided in heaven and earth. The moon has disappeared and is confusing. There is nothing to see, so it is better to walk away. I was so worried that I couldn't bear to leave. The misery and sadness made me heartbroken.
4. "Moon over Guanshan"
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
The bright moon rises out of the Tianshan Mountains, among the vast sea of ??clouds. The wind blows tens of thousands of miles across Yumen Pass. The Han descended on the white road, and the Hu glanced at the Qinghai Bay.
The land was conquered, but no one returned. The garrisonmen looked at the border towns with sad faces as they thought about returning home. The tall building is like this night, sighing is not enough.
Translation:
A bright moon rises from the Qilian Mountains and passes through the vast sea of ??clouds. The mighty long wind blew tens of thousands of miles and passed Yumen Pass where the soldiers were stationed. At that time, Han soldiers were directly targeting the Baishan Mountain Road, while Tubo coveted large areas of Qinghai's rivers and mountains.
This is the place where battles have been fought throughout the ages, and few soldiers who went to battle survived. The garrison soldiers looked at the scene in the border town from a distance, thinking about returning home and couldn't help but look sad. At this time, the soldier's wife was in a high building, lamenting when she would be able to see her relatives far away.
5. "Farewell at Jingmen"
Tang Dynasty: Li Bai
Crossing the distance outside Jingmen, I came to visit the Kingdom of Chu. The mountains end with the plains, and the river flows into the wilderness.
Under the moon, there is a flying mirror, and the clouds form a sea tower. I still feel sorry for the water in my hometown, and send my boat sailing thousands of miles away.
Translation:
Traveling far away by boat, passing by the Jingmen area, we arrived at the homeland of Chu State. The green hills gradually disappear, and the plains stretch as far as the eye can see. The Yangtze River surges into the vast wilderness. The moon reflects on the river, like a flying mirror tomorrow; the clouds rise, changing endlessly, forming a mirage. The water in my hometown is reluctant to part with me and sends me sailing all the way.