Shuāng YuèFrost and Moon 霜月
Li Shangyin on frost and moon in late autumn, as geese arrive and cicadas go.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
初闻征雁已无蝉
chū wén zhēng yàn yǐ wú chán
百尺楼高水接天
bǎi chǐ lóu gāo shuǐ jiē tiān
青女素娥倶耐冷
qīng nǚ sù é jù nài lěng
月中霜里鬭婵娟
yuè zhōng shuāng lǐ dòu chán juān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 霜月.
English translation
When I first hear the passing geese, the cicadas are gone;
from the hundred-foot tower, the water meets the sky.
The Frost Maiden and the Moon Goddess both endure the cold,
vying in beauty in the moon and the frost.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Li Shangyin on frost and moon in late autumn, as geese arrive and cicadas go. The scene stays with you.
Background
Li Shangyin on frost and moon in late autumn, as geese arrive and cicadas go.
Key words
- 青女 qīng nǚ
- Qingnü — the frost goddess
- 素娥 sù é
- the Plain Beauty — the moon goddess Chang'e
- 婵娟 chán juān
- the lovely moon; fair and graceful
About the poet: Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin wrote dense, allusive and beautiful poems, many of them untitled love poems whose meaning is still debated. Caught between court factions, he never rose high in office.
Lifetime: c. 813–858. Other famous works: Night Rain: Sent North (夜雨寄北); Climbing Leyou Plain (登乐游原); Untitled (Hard Is the Meeting) (无题); The Ornate Zither (锦瑟); Clearing at Dusk (晚晴); Drunk Beneath the Flowers (花下醉); Frost and Moon (霜月).
More by Li Shangyin
- Climbing Leyou Plain登乐游原
- Night Rain: Sent North夜雨寄北
- Untitled (Hard Is the Meeting)无题
- The Ornate Zither锦瑟
- Clearing at Dusk晚晴
- Drunk Beneath the Flowers花下醉