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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

把酒问月

Raising My Cup, I Question the Moon

李白

Li Bai

咏月moon 李白Theme 唐Theme

青天有月来几时？
我今停杯一问之。
人攀明月不可得，月行却与人相随。
皎如飞镜临丹阙，绿烟灭尽清辉发。
但见宵从海上来，宁知晓向云间没。
白兔捣药秋复春，嫦娥孤栖与谁邻？
今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人。
古人今人若流水，共看明月皆如此。
唯愿当歌对酒时，月光长照金樽里。

Blue heaven, when did the moon first appear? I stop my cup and ask it now.
Men may climb toward the bright moon but cannot reach it; yet the moon in its course follows close behind us.
Bright as a flying mirror it faces the crimson palace; when the green mist is gone, its pure light pours forth.
We only see it rise from the sea at night—who knows where it sinks among the clouds at dawn?
The white hare pounds the elixir through autumn and spring; the lonely Chang'e—with whom does she neighbor?
Men of today have not seen the moon of old; yet this moon once shone on men of old.
Men of old and men of today flow like water; but all who gaze on the bright moon see the same.
My only wish: while we sing to wine, let the moonlight linger long in the golden cup.

Listen

Meaning

Li Bai stops his wine to ask the moon about time and eternity, pondering how the same moon has watched both ancients and the living.

青天上的明月究竟是从什么时候有的？我现在停下酒杯，向它问上一问。人们想要攀摘明月却不能够，月亮运行却紧紧与人相随。它皎洁得如同飞起的明镜映照着朱红的宫阙，当遮蔽它的绿烟散尽，便迸发出清冷的辉光。只看到它每夜从海面升起，谁又知道它早晨在云间隐没。月里的白兔捣药从秋到春，嫦娥孤单地栖居又与谁为邻？如今的人见不到古时的月亮，今日的月亮却曾经照耀过古人。古人与今人如同流水般逝去，共同仰望的明月却都是这般。只愿在当歌对酒的时候，月光长久地照在金酒杯里。

Appreciation

A quintessential Li Bai meditation of the High Tang, this seven-character ancient-style poem lets the poet converse with cosmic time over wine. Picking up Qu Yuan's 'Heavenly Questions' tradition, Li Bai stops his cup to interrogate the moon: unreachable yet ever-following, ancient yet present, it is at once mirror and companion. He weaves astronomy, myth, and wine into one improvisatory breath—the white rabbit pounding elixir, the lonely Chang'e, the pure light pouring from the crimson palace—before arriving at the sublime couplet that men of today have not seen the moon of old, yet this moon once shone on men of old. The flowing, unregulated form matches the wandering thought, shifting rhyme groups as the mind moves from wonder to consolation. Beyond personal lyricism, the poem asserts a serene continuity: although generations flow like water, all who gaze on the bright moon see the same. Closing on a wish that moonlight linger in the golden cup, it became one of the most beloved expressions of Li Bai's romantic, wine-borne philosophy and a model for later 'questioning the moon' verse.

【白话串讲】 “青天有月来几时？我今停杯一问之”——李白举杯问月：月亮存在多久了？“人攀明月不可得，月行却与人相随”——“白兔捣药秋复春，嫦娥孤栖与谁邻”——“今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人”——这句，成了千古绝唱。【意象与手法】以“把酒问月”的飘逸自我形象起笔，从追问明月何时有的宇宙之迷，写到人月相随，再写月中白兔嫦娥的孤寂，终以“今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人”的旷达哲思收束；时空交错、虚实相生，将神话、历史与个人豪情打成一片。【情感与主旨】应友人之请而作，既见李白浪漫豪放的仙风，又含对宇宙无穷、人生短促的深沉感慨。“今月曾经照古人”启导了张若虚《春江花月夜》式的哲理咏月传统，是盛唐咏月诗中与《月下独酌》《静夜思》鼎足而三的名篇。【名句点睛】常考“今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人”以古今对照写宇宙永恒、人生短促；“青天有月来几时？我今停杯一问之”以问月起笔的飘逸。

Background

Written by Li Bai (701–762), the romantic master of the High Tang. The poem belongs to a tradition of 'questioning the moon' that lets the poet converse with cosmic time over a cup of wine.

李白字太白，号青莲居士，盛唐最伟大的浪漫主义诗人，素有「诗仙」之称。此诗题下自注「故人贾淳令予问之」，可知乃应友人之请而作，约作于唐玄宗天宝三载（七四四）前后，时李白在长安或漫游南北，正值政治抱负受挫、转而寄情诗酒之际。诗中「青天有月来几时」的劈头一问，正折射出诗人在失意中对宇宙人生之谜的困惑与神往。唐人咏月成风，而李白尤甚，集中咏月之句逾三百处，采石矶乘醉捉月之传说更将其与月结下不解之缘。此诗的创作背景，实则是诗人以月为知己、借问月以遣怀：当现实中的知音与机遇难觅，唯有亘古的明月可堪对话。理解此诗，须置于李白一生「仗剑去国、辞亲远游、供奉翰林、赐金放还」的遭际中，方能体会其表面飘逸之下深藏的孤独与旷达。此诗约作于李白供奉翰林失意之后、漫游南北之时，正是其由庙堂幻想跌回现实、转而寄情诗酒的转折期。诗中把酒问月的飘逸，恰反衬出知音难觅、抱负成空的落寞；而其以月为永恒见证者反观人生须臾的哲思，则已透露出盛唐诗人面对宇宙人生的深沉自觉。理解此诗，亦当联系李白《月下独酌》《静夜思》诸作，方能见其咏月诗「仙而能悲、豪而能旷」的完整心境，以及盛唐精神由自信走向内省的微妙转折。

Art

The moon is at once a mirror and a companion: unreachable yet ever-following, ancient yet present. Li Bai weaves astronomy, myth (the moon rabbit, Chang'e), and wine into a single meditative breath.

此诗艺术之妙在「以问贯穿、以月为脉、以理收束」，将浪漫想象与哲理思辨熔于一炉。开篇「青天有月来几时？我今停杯一问之」以劈空一问立起「把酒问月」的飘逸自我形象，醉意与遐思并见，极富太白本色。继以「人攀明月不可得，月行却与人相随」翻进一层，写人与月「不可得」却又「相随」的微妙关系，矛盾中见出月之有情。中段「皎如飞镜临丹阙，绿烟灭尽清辉发」「但见宵从海上来，宁知晓向云间没」以飞镜喻月、以丹阙衬辉，写月之形色与出没，设喻新奇、对仗工稳。「白兔捣药秋复春，嫦娥孤栖与谁邻」则引入神话，由月及人、由仙及己，暗伏孤独之慨。后段「今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人」「古人今人若流水，共看明月皆如此」陡然由神话转入哲理，以月之永恒反衬人生之须臾，笔力千钧。结以「唯愿当歌对酒时，月光长照金樽里」，以豪达语收束宇宙之问，余韵悠然。通篇从酒写到月、从月归到酒，从空间感受写到时间感受，纵横恣肆而脉络清晰。

Allusions

The 'white rabbit pounding elixir' and 'Chang'e' refer to the moon-palace legends; 'golden cup' (jin zun) is a classic wine image.

诗中神话与意象皆有所本而能新变。「青天有月来几时」之问，遥承屈原《天问》「日月安属？列星安陈」的叩天传统，亦与张若虚「江畔何人初见月，江月何年初照人」同一机杼。「白兔捣药」出自汉乐府及傅玄《拟天问》，为月中玉兔捣不死之药的常典；「嫦娥孤栖」用嫦娥窃药奔月、独处广寒的神话（见《淮南子》《搜神记》）。「飞镜」喻月，谢庄《月赋》「柔祇雪凝，圆灵水镜」已开以镜喻月之风；「丹阙」指宫殿，以人间宫阙拟月宫。「金樽」用《诗经》及汉赋「金罍」「金樽」之贵器意象，结句化用曹操「对酒当歌」与张翰「一杯酒」之意。凡此神话、经典、前代咏月语汇交错，被李白以豪气统摄，遂成「借古语写我月」的壮彩，足见其融化陈典、自铸伟辞的本领。「青天有月来几时」之问，上追屈原《天问》叩天之勇，下启苏轼「明月几时有」之旷，构成中国咏月诗一以贯之的追问传统；「白兔捣药」「嫦娥孤栖」以月中神话写孤寂，与「举杯邀明月」同一孤独情结；「金樽」「对酒」化用曹操《短歌行》与张翰适意之语，将及时行乐的悲慨写得清豪并见。诸典在李白笔下一扫陈腐，皆化为自我情性的注脚，其点铁成金之妙，于此可见一斑，亦足证盛唐诗人以才学驭典故、以豪气统藻丽的独特创造力。

Commentary

The couplet 'Men of today have not seen the moon of old / yet this moon once shone on men of old' is praised as a sublime expression of continuity beyond mortality.

逐层读去，此诗如一场与明月的酣畅对话。起首二句以「来几时」的醉问振起全篇，一个「停杯」动作写出诗人仰观苍穹、物我两忘的痴态，已立起「谪仙人」自我造象。三、四句由问入写，「不可得」与「却相随」构成人与月关系的哲学悖论——可望而不可即，却又不即不离，恰似诗人对理想、对知音的复杂心境。五至八句专写月之姿容与行迹，「飞镜临丹阙」状其皎洁，「绿烟灭尽」写云开见月，「宵从海上来」「晓向云间没」写其升沉，视听与时间交叠，月之形象由静态之美转入动态之谜。九、十句由月及仙，白兔、嫦娥的孤寂暗渡诗人自身的孤独。十一至十四句为全诗高潮，以「今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人」一对，将个体之问升华为人类共有的时间之思：月是永恒的见证者，人却如流水逝去，「共看明月皆如此」既是慰藉也是苍凉。末二句「唯愿当歌对酒时，月光长照金樽里」以及时行乐收束，表面旷达，内里却是「知音难觅、唯月相随」的孤怀，与起首「停杯一问」遥相呼应，使全诗意脉圆转而余味无穷。

Prosody

Reading note A quintessential Li Bai meditation on time, nature, and wine.此诗为七言歌行体，凡十六句，是李白典型的「以古行写豪情」之作。其格律上虽为七言，而不拘近体对仗与黏连，纯以古歌行的纵横恣肆为体，间以散句与对句调节气脉。如「人攀明月不可得，月行却与人相随」「皎如飞镜临丹阙，绿烟灭尽清辉发」「但见宵从海上来，宁知晓向云间没」「白兔捣药秋复春，嫦娥孤栖与谁邻」「今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人」「古人今人若流水，共看明月皆如此」皆是工稳的七字对句，而首二句「青天有月来几时？我今停杯一问之」以问句与散句破空而起，末二句「唯愿当歌对酒时，月光长照金樽里」以虚收束，使全诗在整饬中见流动。用韵方面，时、之、随、阙、发、来、没、邻、人、人、此、里相押，大致属平声支、微、灰、真及入声（唐音通押较宽），一韵（或转韵）流转，声情浩荡而清远，与诗中从醉问到哲思再到豪达的情绪曲线相称。整体节奏如长江大河、一泻千里，体现了盛唐七言歌行「破弃声律、以气驱辞」的典型风貌。

Line by line

青天有月来几时？我今停杯一问之。

Blue heaven, when did the moon first come? I stop my cup and ask it now.

Since when has the moon hung in the blue sky? Now I set down my cup and ask.

开篇二句为全诗的起手与自我造象，集中体现李白咏月的仙风与哲理之思。「青天有月来几时」劈空一问，直追屈原《天问》叩问宇宙本源的宏大传统，把对明月起源的困惑与神往一并写出，气势磅礴而带醉意；「我今停杯一问之」则以「停杯」这个细微动作，将宏大的天问收束为诗人个人的、即兴的、带点任性的追问，使宇宙之谜与诗人之醉合而为一。这一起法不惟确立了「把酒问月」的飘逸自我形象，更以「问」字贯串全篇——后文对月之出没、月中孤仙、古今人事的种种感慨，皆自此一问生发。起手即见太白「落笔摇五岳」的魄力，是盛唐咏月诗最富标志性的开篇之一。

The opening two lines are the start and self-portrait of the whole, embodying Li Bai's immortal air and philosophic thought in moon-singing. Since when has the moon hung in the blue sky? is a question through the air, directly pursuing Qu Yuan's Heavenly Questions grand tradition of knocking at the origin of the universe, writing at once the puzzlement and reverence for the moon's origin, the force vast and drunken. Now I set down my cup and ask uses the small action of setting down the cup to gather the grand heavenly question into the poet's personal, impromptu, a little willful inquiry, making the riddle of the universe and the poet's drunkenness one. This opening at once establishes the free self-image of holding wine and asking the moon, and threads the whole through the word ask - the later sighs at the moon's rising and setting, the lone immortal in the moon, and the affairs of men past and present, all spring from this question. The opening at once shows Taibai's brush that shakes the five peaks, one of the most iconic openings of High Tang moon poetry.

今人不见古时月，今月曾经照古人。

Men of today have not seen the moon of old; yet this moon once shone on men of old.

The men of today never saw the moon of old; yet this same moon once shone on the men of old.

此二句为全诗哲理的高潮，亦中国诗歌咏月传统中最具思辨色彩的名句。「今人不见古时月」从空间与时间的双重隔绝着笔——今日之人无法得见昔时之月；「今月曾经照古人」则反向翻进，同一轮明月却曾照临古人，于是「月恒在人逝」的对照豁然呈现。李白以极简的回环句式（今人—古时月，今月—古人），道破了宇宙永恒与人生须臾的悖论，既承张若虚「江月年年望相似，不知江月待何人」之思，又较之更具对仗的铿锵与哲理的锐利。这一联将个体的问月之醉，提升为全人类面对永恒的共同慨叹，是盛唐诗歌由浪漫想象通向哲理观照的典范，对苏轼「明月几时有」一问亦有直接启迪。

These two lines are the philosophic climax of the whole, and the most speculative famous line in the Chinese moon-singing tradition. The men of today never saw the moon of old writes from the double separation of space and time; yet this same moon once shone on the men of old turns back and advances, the same moon once shone on the ancients, and the contrast of the moon's abiding and man's passing at once appears. Li Bai, in the simplest circling phrasing (today's men - the old moon; this moon - the old men), speaks out the paradox of the universe's eternity and life's brevity, at once inheriting Zhang Ruoxu's the river moon looks the same year by year, who does the river moon wait for? and yet sharper in the clang of parallel and the edge of philosophy. This couplet raises the individual's moon-asking drunkenness to the common sigh of all mankind facing eternity, the model of High Tang poetry's passage from romantic imagination to philosophic vision, directly enlightening Su Shi's when did the bright moon first appear.

唯愿当歌对酒时，月光长照金樽里。

My only wish: while we sing to wine, may the moonlight linger long within the golden cup.

I only wish that when I sing and face the wine, the moonlight may always shine within the golden cup.

结联二句为全诗的收束与情感的归宿，亦李白「及时行乐」人生观的诗意表达。「当歌对酒」化用曹操《短歌行》「对酒当歌，人生几何」与张翰「一杯酒」之意，本含人生短促的悲感；李白却以「唯愿」二字转为一种主动的、豪达的祈愿——既然古人今人皆如流水，知音难觅唯月相随，那便只愿在歌唱饮酒之际，让月光长照金杯之中。这一结法由前文的宇宙之问、古今之慨陡然回落到当下的酒杯与月光，以「月光长照金樽」的清美意象消解了时间流逝的悲凉，表面旷达而内里孤洁，与起首「停杯一问」首尾圆合。以豪语作结而余韵悠然，正是太白诗「仙气」与「醉意」交融的至高体现。

The closing couplet closes the whole and lands the feeling, the poetic expression of Li Bai's life attitude of enjoying the hour. The words sing and face the wine adapt Cao Cao's Short Song of Facing wine and singing, how much is life? and Zhang Han's cup of wine, originally carrying the grief of life's brevity; yet Li Bai, with the words I only wish, turns it into an active and bold wish - since ancients and moderns both pass like flowing water, and the understanding friend is hard to find while the moon alone accompanies, then let him only wish that, at the hour of singing and drinking, the moonlight may always shine within the golden cup. This closing, from the earlier cosmic question and the ancient-modern sigh, suddenly falls back to the present cup and moonlight, using the clear beautiful image of the moonlight always shining within the golden cup to dissolve the grief of time's passing, open on the surface and lone-pure within, closing the circle with the opening's set down my cup and ask. Closing in bold words with the lingering aftertone, exactly the supreme blending of Taibai's immortal air and drunkenness.

Study

Word focus

飞镜 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「皎如飞镜临丹阙」之「飞镜」为李白以镜喻月的新奇比喻。月圆如镜、升空如飞，故曰飞镜，既写月之皎洁圆盈，又写其自天而「临」的动态，较谢庄《月赋》「圆灵水镜」的静态比喻更见灵动。以「飞」饰「镜」，化静为动、化物为仙，正合李白浪漫飘逸的诗风。且「临丹阙」（照临红色宫阙）以人间宫殿拟月宫，使月之辉光有了人间温度与壮采。二字炼得极活，是全诗写月形色最精警的一笔，亦可见李白「想落天外」的喻象创造力。

绿烟 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「绿烟灭尽清辉发」之「绿烟」指遮蔽月光的云气或月晕（古以云气为烟），李白以「绿」状其色，既写云霭之轻淡，又使月出云散的过程带上色彩感。「灭尽」与「清辉发」构成因果与动静的对照：云烟消散，月之清辉方得迸发。二字看似寻常，却承担着诗中「由晦转明、由隐转显」的转折功能，与「但见宵从海上来，宁知晓向云间没」的升沉描写相呼应，写出月之神秘出没。以「烟」写云、以「灭尽」写散，措语省净而画面鲜明，是太白写月之态的精妙处。

金樽 A key expression in the poem. Read it as an image, mood, or grammar point in context. 「月光长照金樽里」之「金樽」指精美的酒杯，语本汉赋与六朝诗中的「金罍」「金樽」贵器之称。李白以「金樽」收束全篇，将月光、美酒、金杯三者合一，构造出「对酒邀月」的清美醉境。「金」字既写酒具之华贵，又与月光之清辉相互映照，使结句色泽明丽而不俗。更深层看，「金樽」承载着「对酒当歌」的生命慨叹，月照金樽既是及时行乐的祈愿，也是诗人与永恒之月相伴相守的象征——在所有「古人今人若流水」的消逝中，唯此杯中月光长在不去。一字而收束哲理、豪情与孤洁三重意蕴，是炼字见章法的佳例。