233 李白 靜夜思 translation: Quiet Night Thoughts, by Li Bai
床前明月光 Chuang Qian Ming Yue Guang
This is a translation and annotation of the poem 靜夜思 (Jìng Yè Sī), by the Tang dynasty poet 李白 (Li Bai). The poem is #233 in the collection 300 Tang Poems, and is also known by its first line: 床前明月光 (Chuáng Qián Míng Yuè Guāng).
If you’d like to learn Chinese, you might be interested in Skritter and ChineseClass101.
靜夜思 Jìng Yè Sī [quiet] [night] [think] Quiet Night Thoughts
床前明月光 Chuáng qián míng yuè guāng [bed] [front] [bright] [moon] [light] Bright moonlight before my bed;
疑是地上霜 Yí shì dìshàng shuāng [suspect] [is] [ground] [on] [frost] I suppose it is frost on the ground.
舉頭望明月 Jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè [raise] [head] [look] [bright] [moon] I raise my head to view the bright moon,
低頭思故鄉 Dītóu sī gùxiāng [lower] [head] [think of] [old] [home village] then lower it, thinking of my home village.
Notes
The poem has a AABA rhyme scheme which hasn’t been rendered in the translation.
The 山 in the third line is often seen replaced with 明, or both the characters 山 and 明. In any case it is best seen as 明.
Source: 静夜思 - 百度百科
Links:
