Appreciation: The poem "Moonlight Night" expresses separation by looking at the moon, but it does not express the separation of a couple under normal circumstances. Between the lines, the characteristics of the times are shown. The pain of separation and inner sorrow are melted into one furnace. I am melancholy towards the moon, sighing and thinking, while my hope is pinned on the unknown "when" future.
This poem uses imagination to express his wife's longing for him and his own longing for his wife. The beauty of using the method of imagining from the other person is that one's own feelings are generated from the other person. This method is especially regarded as a method by later generations. The whole poem has a clear purpose, tight structure, clear words, and sincere feelings, without any trace of being bound by verse.
"Moonlight Night" is a five-character poem written by Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. It was written by the author when he was imprisoned in Chang'an and looked at the moon and missed his home. The original text of the poem is as follows:
Tonight in Yanzhou, I can only watch the moon in my boudoir. I pity my children from afar, but I still remember Chang'an. ?
The fragrant mist and clouds make the servant girl wet, and the clear jade arms are cold. When do I lean on Xuguo, my tears will dry when I shine with my eyes.
Vernacular interpretation: The moon in Yanzhou tonight must be equally clear and round. I miss my wife in my boudoir and can only watch it alone. Poor young children, how can they understand the sadness of longing for them? The mist may have wetted my wife's hair; the cold moonlight must have chilled my wife's jade arms. When can we reunite and see each other, relying on the thin curtain to admire the bright moon? The moonlight must still be there at that time, so let the moonlight silently dry up our tears.
Extended information
Creative background: In the spring of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), Anlu Mountain attacked Tongguan from Luoyang. In June, Chang'an fell, Xuanzong fled to Shu, the rebels entered Baishui, and Du Fu fled with his family to Qiang Village in Yanzhou. In July, Suzong ascended the throne in Lingwu (now Lingwu County, Ningxia). When Du Fu learned of this, he rushed from Yanzhou to Lingwu alone. Unexpectedly, he was captured by the Anshi rebels on the way and was escorted back to Chang'an. In August, the author was banned from Chang'an and wrote this poem while looking at the moon and missing home.
In the first and second couplets, the words "pity" and "memory" should not be easily passed over. And this should be linked to "tonight" and "watch alone" to chant. The bright moon is in the sky, and you can see every month. Specifically referring to the "single look" of "tonight", there is naturally a "same look" in the past and a "same look" in the future in mind. The future "looking at the same" will be left to the conclusion. The "same view" in the past is implicit in one or two couplets.
"Tonight, I can only watch the moon in Yanzhou alone in my boudoir. I pity my children from afar, but I still remember Chang'an." This revealed that he and his wife had "watched the moon in Yanzhou together" "Remembering the past of Chang'an". Before the An-Shi Rebellion, the author had been trapped with the director Anda for ten years, part of which he spent with his wife. My wife and I endured hunger and cold together, and we also watched the bright moon in Chang'an together. This naturally left a deep memory.
When Chang'an fell and the family fled to Qiang Village, it was extremely poignant to "watch" the moon of Yanzhou with my wife and "recall Chang'an" together. Now that he is trapped in the rebellious army, his wife "looks alone" at the moon of Yanzhou and "remembers Chang'an". The "recollections" are not only full of bitterness, but also intertwined with worry and panic. The word "remember" has a profound and thought-provoking meaning.
In the past, my wife and I looked at the moon in Yanzhou together and "reminisced about Chang'an". Although we had mixed feelings, I still shared the worries for my wife. Now, my wife "looks alone" at the moon in Yanzhou and "remembers Chang'an". ", "Yao Lian" the children are naive and childish, which can only increase her burden and cannot share her worries. The word "pity" is also full of affection and touching. The child was still young and did not know how to miss him, but Du Fu had to miss him. The "not thinking" of children can better reflect the depth of adults' "thinking".
The third couplet further expresses "recalling Chang'an" through the image description of the wife looking at the moon alone. The mist is wet and the clouds are wet, and the moon is cold on the jade arms. The longer I look at the moon, the deeper my memory becomes. This is exactly what the author imagined. When I think of my wife who is worried and sleepless at night, I can't help but shed tears. Looking at the moon in the two places, there are tears in each place, which arouses the author's hope of ending this painful life; so he ends with a poem expressing hope: "When will I lean on the virtual guise, and the tears will dry up under the double light?" "Double light" and When the tear stains begin to dry, it means "looking at it alone" but when the tear stains are not dry, the meaning is implicit.