唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
月夜
A Moonlit Night
今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看。
遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安。
香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒。
何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干。
Far off I pity my little children, who know not yet to miss Chang'an.
Fragrant mist wets her cloud-like hair; clear light chills her jade-white arm.
When shall we lean by the thin curtain, and the doubled light dry our tear-stains?
Meaning
Tonight the moon above Fuzhou; only his wife in the chamber gazes at it alone. Far away he pities his young children, who do not yet understand longing for their father in Chang'an. Night mist wets her cloud-like hair; the clear moonlight chills her jade-white arm. When will they lean together by the thin curtain, and the shared moonlight dry both their tear-stains?
今夜鄜州城上的明月，唯有妻子在闺房中独自凝看。遥想年幼的儿女们，还不懂得思念远在长安的父亲。夜雾沾湿了她的云鬟，清冷的月光使玉臂生寒。何时才能并肩倚着薄帷，让月光同时照干两人的泪痕。
Appreciation
Du Fu's 'A Moonlit Night' is a classic of homesick longing, written when he was captured in Chang'an during the An Lushan rebellion. Its chief wonder is the 'reverse address': instead of saying 'I miss home', the poet writes from the wife's side — 'in the chamber she alone looks on'. This turning makes the longing double. The poem moves from her lone watching, to the children who cannot yet share the grief, to her standing long in the moonlight, and finally to a hoped-for reunion where the moonlight dries their tears. A reader feels not just a husband's love but the whole sorrow of a family torn by war.
【白话串讲】 安史之乱，杜甫被叛军困在长安，妻子儿女在鄜州。“今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看”——他不说自己想家，却说妻子在月下独自看月亮。“香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒”——他想象她站了很久。“何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干”——什么时候，我们一起看月，泪痕才干。 【意象与手法】 全诗善用'对写'与'悬想'之法。首联不说己思妻，而云'闺中只独看'，从妻处落笔 【情感与主旨】 此诗作于唐玄宗天宝十五载（756）秋，时安史之乱已起，杜甫携家避居鄜州（今陕西富县），闻肃宗即位灵武，遂只身北上，中 【名句点睛】 本诗为思乡怀人类经典。常考'对写法'（从对方落笔）：首联'闺中只独看'明明是自己望月思家，却写妻子独看，倍增思念
Background
This poem was written in the autumn of the fifteenth year of Tianbao (756), when the An Lushan rebellion was underway. Du Fu had taken his family to Fuzhou (today's Fu county, Shaanxi) for refuge; hearing that Emperor Suzong had ascended at Lingwu, he set off north alone and was captured by rebels and taken to Chang'an. The poem writes his feeling of looking at the moon and missing home while held in Chang'an. As predecessors said, 'the poet longs for home, yet imagines his family longing for him' — all written from the opposite side; this is the wonder of Du's craft. The one moon over Fuzhou and Chang'an draws a single thread of separation-pain through the turmoil.
《月夜》为唐代杜甫所作，是写月夜忆内、闺中独看的诗。杜甫（712—770），字子美，自号少陵野老，河南巩县人，唐代诗人。此诗：今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看。遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安。香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒。何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干。全诗写月夜忆内、闺中独看，是杜甫诗的名篇。
Art
The whole poem excels in the 'reverse address' and 'flight of fancy'. The first couplet does not say the poet misses his wife, but writes 'in the chamber she alone looks on', starting from her; the 'far off I pity' couplet imagines the children not yet understanding their father's absence, using the children's innocence to set off the deeper sorrow of husband and wife. The 'fragrant mist' and 'clear light' couplet, with its delicate observation of mist wetting her hair and light chilling her arm, writes her long, foolish standing at the moon. The closing 'doubled light' echoes 'alone looks on', from the real suspends a reunion, closing on the void — feeling turns and returns, melancholy yet restrained.
《月夜》艺术上以月夜忆内的描摹与对面写来的笔法见长。全诗八句：首写鄜州月——“今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看”写今夜鄜州月、闺中只独看；次写小儿女——“遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安”写遥怜小儿女、未解忆长安；又写云鬟玉臂——“香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒”写香雾云鬟湿、清辉玉臂寒；末写虚幌双照——“何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干”写何时倚虚幌、双照泪痕干。全诗以月夜忆内写对面写来，正是杜甫诗婉曲的笔法。
Allusions
The poem uses no obvious allusion, winning purely by plain description and imagination. 'Thin curtain' means a thin, translucent hanging; 'doubled light' means husband and wife facing the same moon. 'Fuzhou' is a real place-name, where Du Fu's family then was. Only 'cloud-like hair' and 'jade-white arm' follow the traditional beauty image to describe his wife, not a specific allusion. The whole is unornamented, writing separation-longing in household words, which makes it the more true — exactly Du Fu's 'never rest until a word astonishes'; in plainness he shows melancholy.
《月夜》用典在“鄜州月”“闺中独看”“小儿女”“忆长安”“香雾云鬟”“清辉玉臂”“虚幌”“双照泪痕”。“鄜州月”写鄜州月（鄜州之月）；“闺中独看”写闺中独看；“小儿女”写小儿女；“忆长安”写忆长安（长安，京城）；“香雾云鬟”写香雾云鬟；“清辉玉臂”写清辉玉臂；“虚幌”写虚幌（轻薄帷幌）；“双照泪痕”写双照泪痕。全诗以这些意象写月夜忆内、闺中独看，用典自然而婉曲自见，正是杜甫诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Qing scholar Pu Qilong in his Du Poems Explained says: 'the heart has already flown to her, the poem comes flying from the opposite side, mournful and delicate to the utmost, exquisite and peerless'. Shi Buhua in his Poems Explained says it 'turns solid into void'. Predecessors often set this poem beside Wang Wei's 'On the Ninth Day, Thinking of My Brothers in Shandong', both good at writing from the opposite side. Qiu Zhao'ao's commentary also praises 'the meaning is to miss home, yet he imagines his family missing him'. Every word household, yet every word painful.
《月夜》是杜甫诗的名篇，也是唐诗中写月夜怀人的代表作。此诗写月夜忆内、闺中独看，向为论者称道。论者多赏其月夜忆内的描摹与对面写来的笔法——“今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看”写今夜鄜州月、闺中只独看，婉曲之极；“遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安”写遥怜小儿女、未解忆长安，更见其妙；“香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒”写香雾云鬟湿、清辉玉臂寒，尤称传神。杜甫此诗不写己之忆内，而写闺中忆己，正是其代表——以月夜忆内写对面写来，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看。
Tonight the moon over Fuzhou; in the chamber, she alone watches it.
今夜鄜州的月，只有闺中的妻子独自在看。
Tonight's moon over Fuzhou; from the inner chamber, only my wife watches it alone.
首写今夜鄜州月、闺中只独看，是全诗写月夜忆内的起点。“今夜鄜州月”写今夜鄜州月——“今夜鄜州月”写今夜鄜州的月亮——今夜鄜州月；“闺中只独看”写闺中只独看——“闺中只独看”写闺中只有妻子独自在看——闺中只独看。二句写今夜鄜州月、闺中只独看：今夜鄜州月，闺中只独看。以“今夜鄜州月”写今夜鄜州月、异地同看，以“闺中只独看”写闺中独看、一人望月，正是杜甫诗写月夜忆内的起点——鄜州月，闺中独看。
The opening writes tonight the moon over Fuzhou; in the chamber, she alone watches it, the starting point for the moonlit night's remembrance of the wife. Tonight the moon over Fuzhou writes the moon of this night in Fuzhou; in the chamber, she alone watches it writes only the wife alone in the chamber gazing at the moon. The two lines write the Fuzhou moon and the chamber's solitary gaze - Du Fu's starting point for the moonlit remembrance: the moon over Fuzhou, the wife alone watching.
遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安。
Far off I pity my little children, who know not yet to miss Chang'an
遥想可怜那幼小的儿女，还不懂得思念长安。
Far off I pity my little children; they do not yet know how to miss Chang'an.
次写遥怜小儿女、未解忆长安，是全诗写忆内之深的展开。“遥怜小儿女”写遥怜小儿女——“遥怜小儿女”写遥想可怜那幼小的儿女——遥怜小儿女；“未解忆长安”写未解忆长安——“未解忆长安”写还不懂得思念长安——未解忆长安。二句写遥怜小儿女、未解忆长安：遥怜小儿女，未解忆长安。以“遥怜小儿女”写遥怜儿女、怜其无知，以“未解忆长安”写未解忆长安、童稚天真，正是杜甫诗写忆内之深的展开——小儿女，未解忆。
The second writes far off I pity my little children; they do not yet know how to miss Chang'an, the deepening of the remembrance. Far off I pity my little children writes the distant pity for the small children; they do not yet know how to miss Chang'an writes their not yet understanding the longing for Chang'an. The two lines write the pitying of the children and their childish innocence - Du Fu's deepening: the little ones do not yet understand the missing of Chang'an, all the more showing the wife's solitary grief.
香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒。
Fragrant mist dampens her cloud-like coils; clear chill rays make her jade arms cold.
香雾打湿了她的云鬟，清冷的月光使玉臂生寒。
The fragrant mist dampens her cloud-coiled hair; the clear moonlight chills her jade-white arms.
又写香雾云鬟湿、清辉玉臂寒，是全诗写闺中人望月的展开。“香雾云鬟湿”写香雾云鬟湿——“香雾云鬟湿”写香雾打湿云鬟——香雾云鬟湿；“清辉玉臂寒”写清辉玉臂寒——“清辉玉臂寒”写清冷月光使玉臂生寒——清辉玉臂寒。二句写香雾云鬟湿、清辉玉臂寒：香雾云鬟湿，清辉玉臂寒。以“香雾云鬟湿”写香雾湿鬟、久立之态，以“清辉玉臂寒”写清辉玉臂、望月之久，正是杜甫诗写闺中人望月的展开——香雾湿鬟，清辉玉寒。
The third writes fragrant mist dampens her cloud-like coils; clear chill rays make her jade arms cold, the deepening of the chamber-woman watching the moon. Fragrant mist dampens her cloud-like coils writes the fragrant dew wetting her hair; clear chill rays make her jade arms cold writes the cold moonlight chilling her arms. The two lines write the mist-wet coils and the cold jade arms - Du Fu's deepening: the long standing in the moon until hair is damp and arms cold.
何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干。
When shall we lean by the thin curtain, and the doubled light dry our tear-stains?
何时能一同倚着帷幌，让月光双双照着我们、泪痕才干。
When shall we lean by the thin curtain together, and the doubled moonlight dry our stains of tears?
末写何时倚虚幌、双照泪痕干，是全诗写双照之愿的归结。“何时倚虚幌”写何时倚虚幌——“何时倚虚幌”写何时相依着帷幌——何时倚虚幌；“双照泪痕干”写双照泪痕干——“双照泪痕干”写月光双照、泪痕才干——双照泪痕干。二句写何时倚虚幌、双照泪痕干：何时倚虚幌，双照泪痕干。以“何时倚虚幌”写何时倚幌、重逢之愿，以“双照泪痕干”写双照泪痕、对月同看，正是杜甫诗写双照之愿的归结——倚虚幌，双照泪痕干。
The closing writes when shall we lean by the thin curtain together, and the doubled moonlight dry our stains of tears, the resolution of the double-light wish. When shall we lean by the thin curtain writes the wish for reunion by the curtain; the doubled moonlight dry our stains of tears writes the moon on both, the tears drying. The two lines write the curtain's leaning and the doubled tears-drying - Du Fu's resolution: when shall the two watch the same moon together, and the tears dry at last.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Both use the moon to write separation-longing in turmoil: one remembers the wife, one the brother; both craft from the opposite side.
杜甫《月夜忆舍弟》写露从今夜白、月是故乡明，与本诗同为杜甫诗写月夜怀人。差异在对象：月夜写忆内；月夜忆舍弟写忆弟。一写“内”之思，一写“弟”之念。两者并读，可见杜甫诗写月夜怀人的两种对象。
望月怀远 Gazing at the Mountain 张九龄 · 同为唐诗写月夜怀人，一写闺中独看一写天涯共此，一婉一远 Same (author / youth and middle age)One writes the young man's bold heart 'I shall crown the lesser hills', one the middle-aged man in turmoil missing home — showing the change in Du Fu's breast through a life.
张九龄《望月怀远》写海上生明月、天涯共此时，与本诗同为唐诗写月夜怀人。差异在情致：月夜写对面写来的婉曲；望月怀远写天涯共月的悠远。一写“婉”之深，一写“远”之阔。两者并读，可见唐诗写月夜怀人的两种情致。
春望 Spring View 杜甫 · 同为杜甫诗写乱离思亲，一写闺中独看一写感时溅泪，一婉一慨 Same (author / captive, missing home)Both written while captive in Chang'an; 'Spring View' writes the broken state, 'A Moonlit Night' writes the separated family — one outer, one inner, both melancholy.
杜甫《春望》写感时花溅泪、恨别鸟惊心，与本诗同为杜甫诗写乱离思亲。差异在侧重：月夜写对面写来之婉；春望写感时忧国之慨。一写“家”之思，一写“国”之忧。两者并读，可见杜甫诗写乱离思亲的两种侧重。