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唐 Tang · 诗 Poem

古朗月行

Ancient Song of the Bright Moon

李白

Li Bai

咏物object-poem 哲理philosophy 愁思melancholy

小时不识月，呼作白玉盘。
又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端。
仙人垂两足，桂树作团团。
白兔捣药成，问言与谁餐。
蟾蜍蚀圜影，天明夜已残。
羿昔落九乌，天人清且安。
阴精此沦惑，去去不足观。
忧来其如何？
恻怆摧心肝。

As a child I did not know the moon, and called it a white-jade plate.
Then I doubted it was the mirror of the Jade Terrace, flying at the edge of the azure clouds.
The immortal lets down his two feet; the cassia tree stands round and full.
The white hare has pounded the elixir complete—I ask, for whom is this medicine to be eaten?
The toad devours the round shadow; by dawn the night is already ruined.
Long ago Yi shot down the nine crows, and heaven and humanity were clear and at peace.
Now the lunar essence sinks into darkness—away, away, it is no longer worth beholding.
When sorrow comes, what can be done? Heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver.

Listen

Meaning

As a child I did not know the moon and called it a white-jade plate; then I doubted it was the mirror of the Jade Terrace, flying at the edge of the clouds. Legend tells of the immortal who lets down his two feet, the cassia tree standing round, the white hare who has pounded the elixir—for whom, I ask, is this medicine to be eaten? The toad devours the moon's round shadow; by dawn the night is already spoiled. I recall how Yi of old shot down the nine suns, and heaven and humanity were clear and at peace. But now the lunar essence sinks into darkness and is no longer worth beholding. When sorrow comes, what can be done? Heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver. Written on the old yuefu title, the poem moves from a child's innocent wonder, through lush mythology, to a somber allegory of a darkened age. The eclipsed, dimmed moon is widely read as a figure for a court shadowed by treachery and the poet's deep, helpless anxiety for his times.

小时候不认识月亮，把它叫作白玉盘；又怀疑那是瑶台仙人的镜子，飞在青云之端。传说月中有仙人垂下双脚，桂树长得团团如盖；白兔捣药已经捣成，问它这药要送给谁人吃。蟾蜍渐渐蚀食月亮的圆影，天将明时月亮已残缺不全；从前后羿射落九个太阳，天上人间才清朗安宁。如今月之阴精沦落昏暗，不值得再看；忧愁起来又能怎样？只觉悲恻凄怆，摧折心肝。

Appreciation

Vernacular reading: same as source. Images and technique: the moon is the thread; from childhood's innocent gaze (white-jade plate, Jade Terrace mirror), to mythological narration (immortal, cassia, white hare, toad), to the sigh over the age (Yi shoots nine suns, lunar essence sinks)—three turns, with dazzling imagination and feeling moving from bright to indignant; a famous yuefu using myth to write reality. Emotion and theme: on the old yuefu title, writing the moon's darkening. Long read as the toad devouring the shadow and the lunar essence sinking,暗喻 a dark court where the wicked obscure the wise; the closing 'heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' is broad, deep indignation, the poet's anxious care for the times. Famous lines: 'As a child I did not know the moon, and called it a white-jade plate' writes the child's innocence—a line for the ages; 'When sorrow comes, what can be done? Heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' closes with a question, direct indignation, a strong contrast with the opening innocence.

【白话串讲】李白写《古朗月行》：“小时不识月，呼作白玉盘”——小时候不认识月亮，叫它白玉盘。“又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端”——“仙人垂两足，桂树作团团”——“白兔捣药成，问言与谁餐”——他写童年的月亮。【意象与手法】全诗以月为经，由儿时童趣的仰望（白玉盘、瑶台镜），到神话传说的铺叙（仙人、桂树、白兔、蟾蜍），再到忧世之叹（羿射九乌、阴精沦惑），三度转折，想象奇丽而感情由明朗入忧愤，是李白乐府诗以神话写现实的名篇。【情感与主旨】诗人借古朗月行的乐府旧题，写月之沦惑。历来多认为蟾蜍蚀影、阴精沦惑暗喻朝政昏暗、奸邪蔽明，末句恻怆摧心肝，忧愤深广，寄寓了诗人对时局的深沉忧虑与悲悯。【名句点睛】「小时不识月，呼作白玉盘」以儿童口吻写初见明月之天真，是千古传诵的童趣名句；「忧来其如何？恻怆摧心肝」以问句收束，直抒忧愤，与开篇之天真形成强烈反差。

Background

Li Bai's 'Ancient Song of the Bright Moon' is a lyric on the old yuefu title. 'Song of the Bright Moon' was an old yuefu title; the Song-dynasty Bao Zhao wrote one on moonlit-night thought, and Li used the old title for new meaning, from moon-gazing to human affairs. Its exact date is uncertain; most scholars place it in the late Tianbao, when Emperor Xuanzong in old age neglected governance, trusted the wicked Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, the court darkened, and the shadow of the An-Shi rebellion loomed. 'The toad devours the round shadow' and 'the lunar essence sinks' have long been read as allegory—the eclipse and dark moon figuring the wicked obscuring the wise, the blockage of the worthy's path; the closing 'heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' is broad indignation, the poet's helpless lament in a troubled age. Li often wrote the bright moon (the lone moon of 'Quiet Night Thought,' the eternal moon of 'Asking the Moon with Wine'), but this poem alone writes the moon's darkening and fracture—unique among his moon poems. Using ancient myth (moon immortal, cassia, white hare, toad, Yi shooting the suns) he reorganizes the lunar imaginary, and with the moon's eclipse lodges care for the times—a High-Tang continuation of yuefu's 'arising from affairs,' and a glimpse of Taibai's 'thought beyond heaven' yet mind upon the court.

李白《古朗月行》是拟乐府旧题的抒怀之作。《朗月行》为乐府旧题，南朝宋鲍照有《朗月行》写月夜之思，李白以古题写新意，由咏月而及于人事。此诗具体作年已不可确考，研究者多以为作于天宝后期，时唐玄宗晚年怠政，宠信奸佞，李林甫、杨国忠相继用事，朝政日趋昏暗，安史之乱的阴影已隐然逼近。诗中「蟾蜍蚀圜影」「阴精此沦惑」云云，历来被读作以月蚀、月暗喻奸邪蔽明、贤路壅塞的忧时之语；末句「恻怆摧心肝」，忧愤深广，正是诗人身处乱世而无力回天的悲叹。李白一生好以明月入诗，其写月之明净者多（如「静夜思」之孤月、「把酒问月」之亘古月），而此诗独写月之沦惑与残缺，在李白咏月诗中别具一格：诗人借古老的神话传说（月中仙人、桂树、白兔、蟾蜍、羿射九日）重新组织月宫的想象世界，又以月之蚀残寄寓时局之忧，是乐府「缘事而发」精神在盛唐的延续，亦可见太白「想落天外」而心系庙堂的复杂情怀。

Art

The poem's wonder lies in the moon as thread, myth as weave, the real and unreal generating each other, layer upon layer. The first four lines write childhood's first knowing of the moon: not knowing, calling it a white-jade plate, then doubting the Jade Terrace mirror—childlike comparisons write curiosity and closeness, bright and innocent as folk song. The middle four turn to moon-palace myth: immortal's feet, cassia round, white hare pounding elixir, 'for whom to eat'—the Han-Wei moon legends one by one, the picture from flat to solid, from still to moving, full of gorgeous imagination. The last six turn sharply: toad devours shadow, night ruined, Yi shot suns, heaven and humanity at peace, lunar essence sinks, away not worth seeing—from myth's beauty falling into reality's fracture, contrasting past peace with present darkening, indignation bursting forth. The feeling moves from innocent, surprised, to disappointed, grieved—three turns, the structure opening and closing grandly; the language is largely colloquial (called, then doubted, asked, with whom to eat, away away, what can be done), full of folk flavor, in one line with the yuefu spirit. The last two 'when sorrow comes, what can be done? heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' force out the pain with a question, gathering all the childhood and myth before, lifting weight with ease—Li's model of 'old title, new meaning.'

此诗之妙，在以月为经、以神话为纬，虚实相生，层层递进。前四句写儿时初识明月：不识月而呼作白玉盘，又疑为瑶台镜，以童稚的比拟写尽对明月的好奇与亲切，笔调天真明朗，如民歌般自然。中四句转入月宫神话：仙人垂足、桂树团团、白兔捣药、问言谁餐，将汉魏以来流传的月宫传说一一写出，画面由平面而立体、由静而动，充满瑰丽的想象。后六句陡转：蟾蜍蚀影、夜残月暗，羿昔射日、天人清安，阴精沦惑、去去不足观——由神话之美好跌入现实之残缺，以昔之清安对照今之沦惑，忧愤之情喷薄而出。全诗感情由天真、惊奇而怅惘、悲慨，三度转折，章法大开大合；语言上多用口语（呼作、又疑、问言、与谁餐、去去、其如何），民歌风味十足，与乐府古题的精神一脉相承。而末二句「忧来其如何？恻怆摧心肝」以问句逼出痛语，将前面的童趣与神话尽数收拢，举重若轻，正是李白「以古题写新意」的典范。

Allusions

The poem is almost framed by myth and legend, its allusions melted into the moon-palace imagination. First, 'white-jade plate' and 'Jade Terrace mirror': the plate is a moon metaphor; the Jade Terrace is the immortals' dwelling (Mu Tianzi Zhuan has King Mu toasting the Queen Mother at the Jade Pool; later 'Jade Terrace' means the immortal realm)—comparing the moon to immortal things implies reverence. Second, the moon immortal and cassia: since Han-Wei it was said the moon holds an immortal and a cassia; Duan Chengshi's Youyang Zazu records Wu Gang felling the cassia—'the immortal lets down his two feet, the cassia stands round' follows this. Third, the white hare pounding elixir: the Han yuefu 'Dongtao xing' already has 'white hare pounds the toad-pill'; the moon-hare is a common Six-Dynasties image; 'for whom to eat' asks with childlike wonder. Fourth, the toad devours the shadow: the Han believed a toad in the moon, the eclipse caused by it (Huainanzi: 'moon lights the world, eclipsed by the toad'); the poem uses this to write the moon's ruin, reality's change through ancient legend. Fifth, Yi shoots nine suns: Huainanzi records ten suns in Yao's time, Yi shooting nine, the world at peace—'Yi of old shot down the nine crows' contrasts past peace with present dark, deep feeling. Sixth, 'lunar essence' is the moon's alternate name, antiquity calling the sun 'great Yang,' the moon 'lunar essence.' All are drawn at will, melted traceless—showing Li's mastery of myth.

此诗几乎以神话传说为骨，用典皆融化于月宫想象之中。其一，「白玉盘」「瑶台镜」：白玉盘为明月之喻，瑶台为神话中仙人所居（《穆天子传》载穆王觞西王母于瑶池，后世以瑶台为仙境代称），以仙家之物拟月，暗含对月之尊崇。其二，月中仙人、桂树：汉魏以来相传月中有仙人、桂树，段成式《酉阳杂俎》载吴刚伐桂之说，此诗「仙人垂两足，桂树作团团」即承此传说。其三，白兔捣药：汉乐府《董逃行》已有「白兔捣药虾蟆丸」之语，月中白兔捣药为六朝以来习见意象，「问言与谁餐」以问句出之，天真而奇。其四，蟾蜍蚀影：汉人以为月中有蟾蜍，月食乃蟾蜍所蚀（《淮南子·说林训》「月照天下，蚀于詹诸」），此诗以蟾蜍蚀影写月之残，是借古老传说写现实之变。其五，羿射九日：《淮南子·本经训》载尧时十日并出，羿射九日，天下安宁，「羿昔落九乌」以古之清安对照今之昏暗，寄慨遥深。其六，「阴精」为月的别称，古以日为大阳、月为阴精。凡此种种，皆信手拈来、融化无迹，足见李白对神话传统的谙熟与创造力。

Commentary

The 'Ancient Song of the Bright Moon' is an unusual tune among Li Bai's yuefu and a perennial anthology piece. Its sixteen lines: the first eight write the moon's loveliness through childlike fun and myth, the last eight its worry through eclipse and darkening—innocent gazing and deep anxiety in one poem, rare among moon lyrics. Shen Deqian's Tang Poetry Selection praises Li's yuefu as 'galloping free, thought beyond heaven'—the white-jade plate and Jade Terrace mirror, the immortal, hare, toad, Yi, are unrivaled in奇丽; yet 'the lunar essence sinks, away not worth seeing' is cold and stern, 'when sorrow comes, what can be done? heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' is grieved and indignant, showing the poet's care for the age he could not stop. Later readers take it as a moon-satire on the times—the toad for the wicked, the bright moon for the ruler's virtue; not every line need be literal, but the depth of indignation is clear. With 'Quiet Night Thought' it both writes the bright moon yet differs wholly: one writes homesickness lightly, one writes age-anxiety heavily; one clear as water, one gloomy as eclipse—showing Li's many faces in moon poetry. Readers today enjoy its childlike truth and feel its heavy worry—the very reason for its immortality.

《古朗月行》是李白乐府诗中的别调，亦是历代选本必录的名篇。全诗十六句，前八句以童趣与神话写月之可爱，后八句以蚀残与沦惑写月之可忧，天真的仰望与深沉的忧愤集于一篇，在咏月诗中极为罕见。沈德潜《唐诗别裁》评李白乐府「驰骋纵横，想落天外」，此诗正是其例：白玉盘、瑶台镜之喻，仙人、白兔、蟾蜍、羿之铺叙，想象之奇丽无与伦比；而「阴精此沦惑，去去不足观」之冷峻，「忧来其如何？恻怆摧心肝」之悲慨，又见诗人忧时念乱、不能自已的深情。后世论者多以此诗为借月讽时之作，以为蟾蜍喻奸邪、明月喻君德，虽不必句句坐实，而其忧愤之深、寄慨之遥，则昭然可辨。此诗与《静夜思》同写明月而情怀迥异：一以月写乡愁之淡，一以月写忧时之浓；一明净如水，一幽郁如晦，恰可见李白咏月诗的多面性。今日读者读之，既赏其童趣之真，亦感其忧患之重，正是此诗不朽之由。

Prosody

Form Five-character ancient-style poem (old yuefu title 'Song of the Bright Moon').五言古诗（乐府旧题《朗月行》）

Rhyme Sixteen lines, two lines per rhyme, with the even line rhyming and the first line entering rhyme, single rhyme on the level 寒 category throughout: 盘, 端, 团, 餐, 残, 安, 观, 肝—all in the Ping-shui 寒 class; the rhyme is open and neat, its voice peaceful yet with a desolate edge.全诗十六句，两句一韵，偶句押韵而首句入韵，通押平声「寒」韵一韵到底：盘、端、团、餐、残、安、观、肝八韵，皆属平水韵上平十四寒部，韵脚疏朗齐整，声情于平和中见悲凉。

Tone pattern Five-character gushi, not bound by near-form tone; every line five characters, the rhythm short and archaic, strongly folk-like; two lines per shift of scene, the voice turning with content—the first eight bright and brisk (plate, mirror, immortal, hare), the last eight turning grave (eclipse, sinking, rending heart), writing feeling through sound, natural and flowing.五言古体，不拘近体平仄，句句五字，节奏短促古朴，民歌味浓；两句一换境，声情随内容递转：前八句明朗轻快（白玉盘、瑶台镜、仙人、白兔），后八句转趋沉郁（蚀影、沦惑、摧心肝），以声写情，自然流转。

Reading note A pseudo-ancient yuefu, a five-character gushi, quite unlike regulated verse: no antithesis, no fixed tone, but notable for two-lines-per-rhyme, single rhyme throughout. Sixteen lines, all five characters, two lines a rhyme-group—盘, 端, 团, 餐, 残, 安, 观, 肝, all 寒 class, single rhyme, unusual among Li's usually trans-rhyming yuefu, giving instead an archaic gravity and emotional condensation. In voice, the 寒 rhyme is clear yet slightly cold, fitting the moon's clear light and the age-anxiety's desolation; the first eight rhymes are open and bright (plate, end, round, eat), matching the childlike myth; the last eight turn grave (ruin, peace, see, liver), matching the moon's eclipse and the heart's rending—rhyme and feeling generate each other. The short five-character lines strike like beats, folk breath upon the face, fitting the yuefu 'Bright Moon' nature. Li writing the moon in this ancient form, unadorned yet natural, shows his mastery of many forms.此诗为拟古乐府，体制上属五言古诗，与近体律绝迥异：不事对仗，不拘平仄，而以两句一韵、一韵到底的整饬见长。全诗十六句，句句五言，两句为一韵组，盘、端、团、餐、残、安、观、肝八韵，皆属平水韵上平十四寒部，一韵到底，这在李白乐府中颇为少见——李白乐府多以转韵见流转之姿，而此诗一韵到底，反显出拟古的整肃与情感的沉凝。就声情而言，「寒」韵字音清亮而略含清冷，正合咏月之清辉与忧时之悲凉；前八句韵脚疏朗明快（盘、端、团、餐），与儿时童趣、神话铺叙的天真语气相称；后八句韵脚转趋沉著（残、安、观、肝），与月之蚀残、忧之摧心的沉痛内容相应，韵与情相生，声与义相谐。五言短句节奏短促，如击节而歌，民歌气息扑面而来，与乐府古题「朗月行」的本色相合。李白以此古体写月，不假雕饰而天趣自成，较之其七言歌行的纵横捭阖，别是一番古朴浑成之致，足见其兼善众体的大家风范。

Line by line

小时不识月，呼作白玉盘。

The opening writes the child's first sight of the moon, the emotional starting point. 'Did not know the moon' points to the child's innocent ignorance: what the moon is, wholly unknown, so he compares it with things at hand—'called it a white-jade plate,' 'called' meaning blurted out, exactly the fearless fun of child-talk. The white-jade plate metaphor writes the moon's color (white as jade), shape (round as a plate), and light (glossy with sheen)—one comparison holding color, shape, and light. Writing the moon from a child's view is the poem's most moving move: adults' moon-poems are full of allusion and lodging, but in the child's eye the moon is only a fun white-jade plate. This uncarved innocence provides the emotional start for the later myth and age-anxiety—precisely because he loved the moon so as a child, the later darkening pains him the more. Two lines plain as talk, yet endless feeling—a perfect union of childlike fun and poetic heart.

小时候不认识月亮，把它叫作白玉做成的盘子。

When I was small I did not know the moon; I called it a white jade plate.

起句以儿童口吻写初见明月之状，是全诗情感的起点。「不识月」三字点出孩童的懵懂天真：月为何物，浑然不知，于是便以身边之物作比——「呼作白玉盘」，呼者，随口而叫也，正见童言无忌之趣。白玉盘之喻，既写月之色（洁白如璧），又写月之形（圆满如盘），还暗写月之光（莹润有辉），一喻而色、形、光俱备。以儿童视角写月，是此诗最动人处：成年人的咏月多有典故与寄托，而孩子的眼里，月只是好玩的白玉盘，这种未经雕琢的天真，为后文的神话铺叙与忧时感叹提供了情感的起点——正因儿时爱月之深，如今见月之沦惑，痛惜才如此深切。两句明白如话，却有无限情味，是童趣与诗心的完美结合。

The opening writes a child's first sight of the moon, the emotional start of the poem. 'I did not know the moon' names the child's innocence: what is the moon, he does not know, and so compares it to things at hand — 'I called it a white jade plate', the word 'called' speaking of the offhand naming, the humor of a child. The white-jade-plate metaphor gives the moon's color (white as jade), its shape (round as a plate), and its glow (lustrous with light), one metaphor holding all three. Writing the moon through a child's eyes is the poem's most moving point: the adult's moon-poem is loaded with allusion, but to a child it is only a plaything plate — and this uncarved naivete is the emotional starting point for the myth and the lament below.

又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端。

'Then doubted' follows 'called,' writing the child's deepening knowledge of the moon: the white-jade plate is a mortal thing, but the moon hangs in heaven, bright and extraordinary, so he guesses again it is the Jade Terrace's precious mirror flown to the blue clouds. 'Jade Terrace' is the immortals' dwelling; 'mirror' writes the moon's round brightness—comparing it to the immortal's mirror adds a layer of height and mystery; 'flying at the edge of the blue clouds' writes the moon's suspension, the single 'fly' makes still into moving, as if the moon flew up itself, full of child fun. Read with the previous line, we see the poet's fine grasp of child psychology: first compare with a near thing (plate), then with a far realm (Jade Terrace mirror), from near to far, real to unreal, exactly the curious, imaginative child nature. And the two comparisons also prepare the later myth-world: since the moon is no ordinary thing, the palace immortal, cassia, white hare naturally enter the poetic realm—the innocent gaze thus transitions to gorgeous imagination.

又怀疑那是瑶台仙人的镜子，飞在青云之上。

I also wondered it was the mirror of Jade Terrace, flying up in the blue clouds.

「又疑」紧承「呼作」，写孩童对月亮认识的深化：白玉盘是凡间之物，而月悬天际、光洁非凡，于是又猜它是瑶台的宝镜飞上青云。「瑶台」是神话中仙人居所，「镜」则写月之圆亮——以仙家之镜拟月，比白玉盘更多一层高远与神秘；「飞在青云端」写月之悬空，一个「飞」字化静为动，仿佛月是自己飞上去的，童趣盎然。两句与前句合观，可见诗人写儿童心理之细致：先以近物作比（盘），再以远境作比（瑶台镜），由近及远、由实入虚，正合孩童好奇而善想象的天性。而「白玉盘」「瑶台镜」二喻亦为下文的神话世界张本：月既非寻常之物，则月中仙人、桂树、白兔之传说，便自然而然地进入诗境，天真的仰望由此过渡到瑰丽的想象。

'I also wondered' follows 'I called it', writing the deepening of the child's knowledge: the white jade plate is an earthly thing, but the moon hangs in the sky, bright beyond ordinary, and so he guesses it is the magic mirror of Jade Terrace flown into the blue clouds. 'Jade Terrace' is the immortals' dwelling, 'mirror' the round brightness of the moon — more distant and mysterious than the plate. 'Flying up in the blue clouds' writes the moon hanging aloft, the word 'flying' making the static move, as if the moon flew there itself, childlike. The two comparisons — first the near thing (plate), then the far realm (terrace mirror) — move from near to far, from real to imagined, true to a child's curiosity.

蟾蜍蚀圜影，天明夜已残。

These two lines are the turn from joy to worry, the brush suddenly cold. 'Toad' is the Han-believed monster in the moon; Huainanzi says 'moon lights the world, eclipsed by the toad (zhanchu)'—the ancients explained eclipse by the toad devouring the moon; 'devours the round shadow' writes the round moon nibbled bit by bit, myth yet read as witnessed. 'By dawn the night is already ruined' goes further: the sky about to brighten, the moon about to set, the round moon both eclipsed and departing—'ruined' is double, writing both the moon's ruin and the beautiful night's ending. These two lines are the key: taken as myth, only an eclipse scene; but with 'Yi of old shot the nine crows' (peace) and 'lunar essence sinks' (grief), the toad clearly lodges the worry that beautiful things are eroded and clear order obscured. The poet writes reality's worry through myth's brush, forceful yet含蓄—the orthodox yuefu method of 'arising from object, lodging feeling far.'

蟾蜍渐渐蚀食了月亮的圆影，天将明时月亮已残缺不全。

The toad has eaten the round image; at dawn the night is already waning.

此二句是全文由喜入忧的转折，笔锋骤冷。「蟾蜍」是汉人传说中月中的怪物，《淮南子》谓「月照天下，蚀于詹诸（蟾蜍）」，古人以蟾蜍蚀月解释月食；「蚀圜影」三字，写圆月被一点点啃食残缺，本是神话，读来却如亲见。「天明夜已残」更进一层：天将破晓，月将沉落，圆月既被蚀残，又将随夜而去——「残」字双关，既写月残，亦暗写良辰美景之将尽。这两句是理解全诗的关键：若仅作神话看，只是写月食之景；但联系后文「羿昔落九乌」之清安、「阴精此沦惑」之感慨，蟾蜍蚀影显然寄寓了美好事物遭侵蚀、清明局面被蒙蔽的忧思。诗人以神话之笔写现实之忧，笔力千钧而含蓄不露，正是乐府诗「托物起兴、寄慨遥深」的正宗笔法。

These two lines are the poem's turn from joy to grief, the pen suddenly cold. 'The toad' is the moon monster of Han legend, the Huainanzi saying 'the moon lights the world and is eaten by the toad'; the ancients explained eclipse thus. 'Eaten the round image' writes the full moon gnawed away bit by bit — myth, yet read as if witnessed. 'At dawn the night is already waning' goes further: dawn nears, the moon sinks, the round moon eaten away and the night passing — the word 'waning' works two ways, the moon's wane and the ending of fair times. These lines are the key: as myth alone it is only eclipse; yet read with the clear peace of Hou Yi below and the lament of 'sinking into darkness', the eaten moon clearly carries the sorrow of fair things eroded and clarity obscured.

羿昔落九乌，天人清且安。

'Yi of old shot down the nine crows' uses the myth of Yi shooting the suns: Huainanzi records in Yao's time ten suns rose, scorching the crops, Yi shot nine, the world at peace. 'Nine crows' are the nine suns (the ancients said a three-legged crow in the sun, hence crow for sun). The poet raises this old tale for two purposes: first, to contrast past clarity with present darkness—then though ten suns troubled, a hero could cleanse heaven and earth, making 'heaven and humanity clear and at peace'; now the toad eats the moon and the lunar essence sinks, yet none can halt the decline, the hero gone, where the peace? Second, 'clear and at peace' is the poet's ideal portrait—Li all his life longed for a clear world and a wise ruler, this phrase exactly his breast. The two lines wed myth and reality, using past to set off present, using peace to set off darkness, indignation already about to burst, building force for the closing direct outpouring, and turning the poem from myth's gorgeousness to reality's worry—craft at the turn.

从前后羿射落九个太阳，天上人间才清朗安宁。

Of old Hou Yi shot down the nine suns; heaven and humankind were clear and at peace.

「羿昔落九乌」用后羿射日的神话：《淮南子·本经训》载尧时十日并出，焦禾杀稼，羿射九日，天下遂安。「九乌」即九日，古人以日中有三足乌，故以乌代日。诗人举此古事，用意有二：其一，以古之清平对照今之昏暗——昔者虽有十日之患，尚有力能射日的英雄涤荡乾坤，使「天人清且安」；而今蟾蚀月残、阴精沦惑，却无人能挽其颓势，英雄不再，清平何求？其二，「清且安」三字是诗人理想的写照，李白一生向往海内清平、君明臣贤，此语正见其怀抱。两句将神话与现实绾合，以昔衬今、以安衬惑，忧愤之情已呼之欲出，为末二句的直抒胸臆蓄足气势，亦使全诗由神话的瑰丽转入现实的忧患，章法转捩处见出匠心。

'Of old Hou Yi shot down the nine suns' uses the myth of Hou Yi's archery: the Huainanzi records that in Yao's ten suns scorched the crops, and Hou Yi shot down nine, after which the world was at peace. 'Nine suns' are the nine suns, for the ancients spoke of a three-legged crow in the sun, and used 'crow' for the sun. The poet raises this old tale for two reasons: one, to set the old order against the present gloom — once, even with ten suns, there was a hero who could shoot them down and make 'heaven and humankind clear and at peace'; now the toad eats the moon and no one can turn the tide. Two, the words 'clear and at peace' are the poet's ideal: Li Bai longed all his life for a peaceful realm and wise ruler. The couplet knots myth and reality, contrasting the old peace with the present darkness.

阴精此沦惑，去去不足观。

'Lunar essence' is the moon's alternate name; antiquity called the sun 'great Yang,' the moon 'lunar essence'; 'sink into darkness' (lunhuo) means fallen and dim, its light gone. 'The lunar essence sinks into darkness' is the poem's total write of the moon's fate: the innocent, lovely white-jade plate and Jade Terrace mirror are now eclipsed and dim, their glory gathered in. 'Away, away, not worth seeing' is a resolute line: better not look—yet not looking is precisely because he loves too much to bear seeing; the more he says 'not worth seeing,' the deeper the pity. This line writes deep feeling in cold words, on the surface calm, within a great grief stirring—as the saying goes, love deep, pain deep. Commentators mostly read the toad and the sinking lunar essence as allegory for the wicked obscuring the wise and a dark court; the poet's care for the age shows faintly in 'away, away.' The two lines close the former text, leading from the moon's fall to the closing 'sorrow rends the heart,' the structure most strict, the grief gathered to the extreme, only awaiting the last two lines' total eruption.

如今月之阴精已经沦落昏暗，光彩尽失，不值得再看了。

The moon's bright essence now sinks into darkness; it is gone, not worth watching.

「阴精」是月的别称，古人以日为阳精、月为阴精；「沦惑」指沉沦昏暗、光彩尽失。「阴精此沦惑」五字，是对全诗月之命运的总写：儿时晶莹可爱的白玉盘、瑶台镜，至此已蚀残昏暗，光华尽敛。「去去不足观」是决绝之语：不看也罢——然而不看，正是因为太爱而不敢看；愈说不足观，愈见痛惜之深。此句以冷语写深情，表面上平静，内里却翻腾着巨大的悲慨，正如俗语所谓爱之深而痛之切。历来注家多以为蟾蜍蚀影、阴精沦惑暗喻奸邪蔽明、朝政昏暗，诗人忧时之心，于「去去」二字中隐然可见。两句收束前文，由月之沦落引出末二句的忧来摧心，章法极为谨严，全诗的悲慨至此已蓄到极处，只待末二句的总爆发。

'The moon's bright essence now sinks into darkness' — the moon is called 'yin essence', the sun 'yang essence'; 'sinks into darkness' means fallen into gloom, its light gone. 'The moon's bright essence now sinks into darkness' sums the moon's fate through the poem: the childhood white jade plate and terrace mirror are now eaten, dimmed, their glory withdrawn. 'It is gone, not worth watching' is a word of resolve: look away, then — yet to look away is precisely because he loved it too much to look; the more he says 'not worth', the deeper the grief. Commentators have read the eaten moon and darkened essence as the treacherous obscuring the clear court; the poet's anxiety for the age is hidden in the words 'it is gone'.

忧来其如何？恻怆摧心肝。

The last two lines pour out feeling directly, closing with a question and a cry—the poem's emotional eruption. 'When sorrow comes, what can be done?' is self-asking: facing the moon's darkening and the age's gloom, what can sorrow do? The answer is self-evident—nothing. This question asks out the individual's helplessness before the age's great change; and 'heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' writes the deepest grief in the most violent words: 恻怆 is inner sorrow, 'rends the heart and liver' the tearing pain at the extreme. Closing with these, in contrast with the opening 'called it a white-jade plate' innocence: the same bright moon, lovely to the child, worrisome to the man now; the purity of child-fun and the violence of indignation echo at the ends, forming a huge emotional tension. These two lines use no allusion, set no metaphor, write the deepest feeling in the plainest language—exactly Li's 'lotus from clear water, natural without adornment,' and the poem's spiritual summing-up, leaving the reader lingering long.

忧愁袭来又能怎么样呢？只有悲恻凄怆，摧折心肝。

What comes of this sorrow? A grief that breaks the heart and liver.

末二句直抒胸臆，以问句与痛语作结，是全诗情感的爆发点。「忧来其如何」是自问：面对月之沦惑、时之昏暗，忧又能如何？答案不言自明——无可奈何。这一问，问出了个体在时代巨变前的无力感；而「恻怆摧心肝」五字，则以最激烈的语汇写尽悲痛之深：恻怆是内心的哀伤，摧心肝则是痛到极处的撕裂感。以「摧心肝」收束全诗，与开篇「呼作白玉盘」的天真遥相对照：同一轮明月，儿时见之可爱，如今见之可忧；童趣之纯与忧愤之烈，首尾映发，形成巨大的情感张力。此二句不用典、不设喻，以最本色的语言直写最深的感情，正是李白诗「清水出芙蓉，天然去雕饰」的本色，亦是全诗精神的总归结，读之令人低回久之。

The closing two lines speak straight from the heart, ending in a question and a cry, the explosion of feeling. 'What comes of this sorrow?' is a self-question: facing the darkened moon and the troubled age, what can sorrow do? The answer is obvious — nothing can be done. The question speaks the individual's powerlessness before the age's upheaval. And 'a grief that breaks the heart and liver' uses the fiercest words for the depth of pain: grief of the heart, and the tearing of heart and liver at the utmost. Ending on 'breaks the heart' sets it against the opening 'I called it a white jade plate': the same moon, lovely in childhood, grievous now — the purity of the child and the fire of the grief answering each other, a vast tension. No allusion, no metaphor, only the plainest language for the deepest feeling.

Study

Word focus

白玉盘 The three characters 'white-jade plate' in 'called it a white-jade plate' are Li Bai's most famous moon metaphor and the starting point of the poem's childlike fun. Its wonder lies in writing the moon from the child's cognition: the child, not knowing what the moon is, can only compare it with the most familiar, precious thing at hand—white jade is the world's treasure, the plate a daily vessel; the white-jade plate has both the treasure's worth and the vessel's intimacy, exactly fitting the child's impression of the bright moon as 'both beautiful and fun.' As metaphor itself, jade writes the moon's quality (warm), white its color (bright), plate its shape (round)—one comparison holding substance, color, and form, truly apt. And the two characters 'called it' show craft: 'called' means blurted, not deliberated, exactly the fearless child tone; if changed to 'recognized' or 'named,' it becomes adult, child-fun lost. Three characters one metaphor, two characters one call, the child's first sight of the bright moon's surprise and innocence live and vivid, hence chanted for millennia, an immortal model of moon metaphor. 「呼作白玉盘」之「白玉盘」三字，是李白咏月最著名的比喻，亦是全诗童趣的起点。此喻之妙，在于以儿童的认知写月：孩童不识月为何物，只能以身边最熟悉、最珍贵的东西作比——白玉是人间至宝，盘子是日常器物，白玉盘既有至宝之贵，又有器物之亲，恰合孩童眼中明月「又好看又好玩」的印象。就比喻本身言，玉写月之质（温润），白写月之色（皎洁），盘写月之形（圆满），一喻而质地、色泽、形状兼备，堪称精当。而「呼作」二字更见匠心：呼者，随口叫之，非深思熟虑，正是童言无忌的口吻；若易为「认作」「称作」，则成人气十足，童趣尽失。三字一喻、二字一呼，把儿童初见明月的那份惊喜与天真写得活灵活现，故千百年来脍炙人口，成为写月喻月的不朽典范。

蚀 The character 'devour' (shi) in 'the toad devours the round shadow' is the pivotal word turning the poem from joy to worry. 'Devour' means to eat away, erode; originally of insects boring objects, here transferred to the toad eating the moon's shadow—one 'devour' writes the round moon nibbled bit by bit into fracture, extremely visual: not suddenly gone, but gradually incomplete, like a sharp blade cutting flesh, like ants boring wood, slow and irreversible, startling to read. The word's power lies in writing myth's imagination as a shocking reality: the moon's eclipse暗喻 the destruction of beauty, the obscuring of light, the erosion of a clear order; the toad figures the wicked, 'devour' figures the harm, its meaning self-evident. Paired with 'round shadow,' 'round' describes the moon's fullness, 'devour' its fracture—the contrast of full and broken is exactly the poem's emotional logic from innocence to indignation. One 'devour' condenses myth, reality, and worry; the precision of diction is seen here, also preparing the summation of 'the lunar essence sinks.' 「蟾蜍蚀圜影」之「蚀」字，是全诗由喜入忧的关捩字。蚀者，蚕食、侵损之谓，本指虫蛀器物，此处移以写蟾蜍吞食月影，一个「蚀」字，写出圆月被一点点啃噬、残缺的过程，画面感极强：不是倏忽全失，而是渐次残缺，如利刃割肉、如虫蚁蛀木，缓慢而不可逆转，读来令人心惊。这个字的力量，在于它把神话的想象写成了触目惊心的现实：月之蚀，暗喻美之毁、明之蔽、清明局面之被侵蚀；蟾蜍喻奸邪，蚀喻侵害，其意自明。与「圜影」相配，「圜」状月之圆满，「蚀」写月之残损，圆满与残缺的对照，正是全诗由天真而忧愤的情感逻辑所在。一个「蚀」字，凝神话、现实、忧思于一处，炼字之精，于此可见，亦为「阴精此沦惑」的总结张本。

沦惑 The two characters 'sink into darkness' (lunhuo) in 'the lunar essence sinks into darkness' are the poem's summary of the bright moon's fate and the gathering of age-anxiety. 'Sink' means to fall, be trapped; 'dark' means dim, confused; together they write the lunar essence fallen and dim, its light gone—from the lovely white-jade plate to a dim, lightless thing, the change from flourish to decline startling to see. This word is not in earlier moon poems; it is Li's self-forged new word, yet its meaning is deep: sinking-darkness is not only the moon's loss of light, but lodges the worry that clear politics are eroded and fine ideals buried—the moon's sinking-darkness is like the state's gloom, the worthy's obscuring. Read with 'away, away, not worth seeing,' the pity deepens: precisely because it has sunk thus, he cannot bear to look; not bearing to look yet sorrow comes rending the heart—the emotional layers rich. The two characters are forged grave, the condensation point of the poem's indignation, also building force for the closing 'heartbroken grief,' exactly Li's power of forging words to write utmost feeling. 「阴精此沦惑」之「沦惑」二字，是全诗对明月命运的总结，亦是忧时之情的总汇。沦者，沉沦、陷落之谓；惑者，昏暗、迷乱之谓；二字连用，写月之阴精沉沦昏暗、光彩尽失，由晶莹可爱的白玉盘沦为昏昧无光之物，盛衰之变，触目惊心。此词不见于前此咏月名篇，是李白自铸的新词，而其意涵却极深：沦惑不仅是月之失光，更寄寓着清明政治被侵蚀、美好理想遭埋没的忧思——月之沦惑，犹国之昏暗、贤之蔽塞。与「去去不足观」连读，愈见痛惜：正因沦惑至斯，才不忍再看；不忍看而终究忧来摧心，情感的层次极为丰富。二字炼得沉痛，是全诗忧愤之情的凝结点，亦为末句的恻怆摧心蓄足声势，正是李白以铸词写至情的功力所在。

摧心肝 The three characters 'rends the heart and liver' (cuixin gan) in 'heartbroken grief rends the heart and liver' are the poem's strongest emotional note, writing the deepest grief in extreme words. 'Rend' means to break, destroy; heart and liver are the body's vital organs; antiquity used 'liver and intestines cut' for utmost grief, but 'rends the heart and liver' goes further: 'cut the intestines' stops at sorrow, 'rends the heart and liver' pains to shattering. The power of these three: first, the violence of the words—using metal-stone words for flesh-blood pain, the voice urgent, as if heard; second, the depth of contrast—the opening 'called it a white-jade plate' innocence becomes here the 'rends the heart and liver' agony; same bright moon, two moods, echoing at ends, writing the gap between ideal and reality to the extreme. Li's poetry habitually writes utmost feeling with a strong brush; these three are another proof of his 'brush falls and startles wind and rain,' also the heaviest stroke on the whole poem—the poem ends yet feeling remains, the deep worry lingering long in the reader's heart. 「恻怆摧心肝」之「摧心肝」三字，是全诗情感的最强音，以极端的语汇写极深的悲痛。摧者，折断、摧毁之谓；心肝为人体至要之器，古人以肝肠寸断状悲之至极，而以「摧心肝」出之，较「断肠」「摧心」更进一层：断肠止于哀，摧心肝则痛至碎裂。此三字的力量，一在语汇之烈：以金石之词写血肉之痛，声情激越，读之如闻其声；二在对比之深：开篇「呼作白玉盘」的天真，至此化为「摧心肝」的剧痛，同一明月，两般情怀，首尾映照，把理想与现实的落差写到极致。李白诗惯于以健笔写至情，此三字正是其「笔落惊风雨」的又一明证，亦为全诗画上最沉重的一笔——诗已终而情未尽，忧愤之深，久久盘旋于读者心头。