ChineseStudy

219. Thoughts on a Quiet Night | Li Bai

Contents

Text

English translation

Moonlight lies before the bed, so pale and bright that for a moment I take it for frost upon the ground.

The moment of doubt catches the eye before it has fully recognized the scene. Moonlight and frost share a whiteness, while frost also brings the chill of an autumn night.

I raise my head and gaze at the bright moon; I lower it and think of home.

The paired motions, lifting and lowering, carry the emotional turn. The moon is present before the eyes; home is absent, yet the same moon brings it to mind.

赏析 · Commentary

动作简单，转折完整 · Simple Motions, a Complete Turn

诗里没有交代旅馆、季节或离家多久，只留下辨认月光、抬头、低头三个动作。前两句从误认到看清，后两句从看月转到想家，过程没有跳步。故乡之思来得自然，因为它不是先被说出，而是由眼前月色一步步带出来。

The poem tells us neither where the traveler stays, what precise season it is, nor how long he has been away. It keeps only three actions: mistaking the light, raising the head, lowering it. The first couplet moves from uncertainty to recognition; the second from moon to home. Longing feels natural because it is not announced in advance but reached step by step through what the eyes see.

今天熟悉的版本并非唯一版本 · The Familiar Version Is Not the Only One

本站采用《唐诗三百首》中流传最广的“床前明月光”“举头望明月”。较早的李白集系统多见“床前看月光”“举头望山月”，《全唐诗》等文本也保留交叉形态。不同版本都指向同一组动作和情绪。页面采用通行本，是为了符合多数读者的阅读记忆，并不把其他文本判作错误。

This site uses the widely familiar Three Hundred Tang Poems wording: bright moonlight before the bed and gaze at the bright moon. Earlier editions in the Li Bai collection often read look at the moonlight and gaze at the mountain moon, while other compilations preserve mixed forms. All lead through the same actions and emotion. The familiar text is used for readers' recognition, not to declare the alternatives wrong.

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