A slip of the moon hangs over the capital;
Ten thousand washi ng-mallets are pounding;
And the autumn wind is blowing my heart
For ever and ever toward the Jade Pass...
Oh, when will the Tartar troops be conquered,
And my husband come back from the long campaign!
Original Poem:
「子夜吴歌」
李白
长安一片月， 万户捣衣声。
秋风吹不尽， 总是玉关情。
何日平胡虏， 良人罢远征。
Interpretation:
Through the description of women taking advantage of the moonlit night to make winter clothes for the expeditioners, the poet expresses their infinite nostalgia for their loved ones and their urgent hope for a peaceful life, as well as the poet’s tacit understanding and sympathy for the misfortunes of the thinking women.
The first four lines: The autumn moon is bright and the city of Chang’an is bright, and the sound of pounding clothes comes from every house. The sound of the anvil cannot be blown out by the autumn wind, and the sound always ties up the loved ones in Jade Pass.
The first four lines of the poem outline the scenery, creating an ambience for the lyric: on an autumn evening, the moonlight shrouds the night sky of Chang’an, the autumn wind is sullen, and the sound of pounding garments keeps coming from every house, as people are busy preparing their winter clothes. From the sound of pounding clothes, the poet imagines that these women are preparing to sew robes for their husbands who are in the army, and that while pounding clothes, they miss their husbands who are guarding the Yumen Pass.
The last two lines: When will the border war be quelled, so that your husband can end his long journey.
The last two lines are direct lyrical discussion, shouting out the common voice of the thinking women: when can the hu captives be swept away, eliminating the war, the relatives to stop the expedition, the end of this turbulent life of separation? This is the desire for victory, but also the call for peace. Because this poem is different from other poems that simply express the sadness of lovesickness, it expresses the people’s yearning for peace through the mouth of a thinking woman, so it has always been loved by the people.
The whole poem starts with the scenery and ends with the emotion, weaving the autumn moon, the sound of autumn and the autumn wind into a blended realm. The thought content of the poem is profound, with wide social significance, showing the ancient working people’s good wishes for a peaceful life.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Bai (李白), 701 ~ 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
