Home › Poems › Song of the Moon over Mount Emei
É Méi Shān Yuè GēSong of the Moon over Mount Emei 峨眉山月歌
The young Li Bai leaves Sichuan by moonlight.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
峨眉山月半轮秋
é méi shān yuè bàn lún qiū
影入平羌江水流
yǐng rù píng qiāng jiāng shuǐ liú
夜发清溪向三峡
yè fā qīng xī xiàng sān xiá
思君不见下渝州
sī jūn bù jiàn xià yú zhōu
Simplified characters; traditional title: 峨眉山月歌.
English translation
The crescent moon looks like old Autumn's golden brow;
Its deep reflection flows with limpid water blue.
I'll leave the town on Clear Stream for Three Canyons now.
O Moon, how I miss you when you are out of view!
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The poem packs five place names into 28 characters — Emei, Pingqiang, Qingxi, the Three Gorges, Yuzhou — yet it never feels like a list, because the moon's reflection travels with the boat and ties them together. The "you" he misses may be the moon itself, hidden by the gorge cliffs, or a friend left behind. The rush of names mirrors the speed of the river and the young poet's eagerness to see the world.
Background
Written around 725 when Li Bai, in his early twenties, left his home province of Shu (Sichuan) by boat down the Yangtze.
Key words
- 半轮秋 bàn lún qiū
- a half-moon in autumn
- 平羌江 Píngqiāng Jiāng
- a river below Mount Emei
- 渝州 Yúzhōu
- today's Chongqing
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).
Names from this poem
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Leaving Baidi City at Dawn早发白帝城
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of Qiupu (White Hair)秋浦歌
- Farewell to a Friend送友人