Learn by Songs 1 — Day 1 — Quiet Night Thoughts
Li Bai (701–762) was one of the greatest poets of the Tang dynasty, famous for his vivid imagination and deep feeling. He wrote this poem while traveling far from home: moonlight on the floor of his room reminded him of the moon shining over his own village, and homesickness overcame him. It is often the very first classical poem Chinese children memorize.
Today's Vocabulary
床
bed
床前明月光，
Chuáng qián míng yuè guāng,
The bright moonlight falls in front of my bed,
明月
bright moon
床前明月光，
Chuáng qián míng yuè guāng,
The bright moonlight falls in front of my bed,
霜
frost
疑是地上霜。
yí shì dì shàng shuāng.
I wonder if it's frost lying on the ground.
举头
raise one's head
举头望明月，
Jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè,
I raise my head and gaze at the bright moon,
思
to think of, to miss
低头思故乡。
dī tóu sī gù xiāng.
then lower it, thinking of my hometown.
故乡
hometown
低头思故乡。
dī tóu sī gù xiāng.
then lower it, thinking of my hometown.
Today's Grammar
A five-character quatrain (五言绝句) — four lines of five characters each, the simplest common form in classical Chinese poetry. In just 20 characters the poem moves from a physical image (moonlight/frost) to an inner feeling (longing for home), a classic technique called 'borrowing scenery to express feeling' (借景抒情).
床前明月光，
The bright moonlight falls in front of my bed,
疑是地上霜。
I wonder if it's frost lying on the ground.
举头望明月，
I raise my head and gaze at the bright moon,
低头思故乡。
then lower it, thinking of my hometown.