POEM
望月怀远Wàng Yuè Huái YuǎnGazing at the Moon, Thinking of the Distant One
- Dynasty
- Tang
- Author
- 张九龄 Zhāng Jiǔlíng (Zhang Jiuling)
- Genre
- 五言律诗
- Lines
- 8
- Era
- c. 8th century
THE POEM — LINE BY LINE
Tap a line for word-by-word gloss.
#1海上生明月Hǎi shàng shēng míng yuèOver the sea rises the bright moon;word by word
#2天涯共此时Tiān yá gòng cǐ shífar apart as we are, we share this very moment.word by word
天tiānsky (天涯: the edge of the sky; far away)涯yáshore; edge (天涯: the sky's edge)共gòngshare; together此cǐthis时shímoment; time#3情人怨遥夜Qíng rén yuàn yáo yèA lover begrudges the long, long night,word by word
情qíngfeeling; love (情人: one who longs)人rénperson (情人: one who longs)怨yuànbegrudge; complain of遥yáofar; long夜yènight#4竟夕起相思Jìng xī qǐ xiāng sīand through it — all night long — longing rises.word by word
竟jìngthroughout (竟夕: all night)夕xīnight; evening起qǐrise; start up相xiāngeach other; mutually思sīlonging; longing for#5灭烛怜光满Miè zhú lián guāng mǎnHe blows out the candle to enjoy the moonlight flooding the room,word by word
#6披衣觉露滋Pī yī jué lù zīthrows a coat on, and feels the dew thickening.word by word
#8还寝梦佳期Huán qǐn mèng jiā qīso he goes back to bed — and dreams of their meeting.word by word
还huángo back; return寝qǐnsleep; go to bed梦mèngdream佳jiāfine; happy (佳期: the hoped-for meeting)期qītime; date (佳期: the hoped-for meeting)
POEM IN PLAIN ENGLISH
A plain-English guide, not a literary translationOver the sea rises the bright moon; far apart as we are, we share this very moment. A lover begrudges the long night — all night long his longing rises. He blows out the candle to enjoy the moonlight flooding the room, throws a coat on, and feels the dew thickening outside. The moonlight cannot be scooped up by the handful and sent to you, so he goes back to bed — and dreams of the meeting he cannot have. The opening couplet is one of the most quoted in Chinese poetry: separation dissolved by one shared moon. This is a plain-English guide, not a literary translation.
BACKGROUND & IMAGERY
Zhang Jiuling (678-740) was a chancellor of the Tang court and one of the finest poets of his generation; this is his best-loved work. As a strict eight-line regulated verse (五言律诗), the poem turns on its parallel couplets — moonlight for candlelight, dew for dreams — while the famous opening line has become the standard way to say 'we look at the same moon though we are worlds apart' (hence the idiom 天涯共此时).
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
Sources
- 《唐诗三百首》通行本（中华书局点校本）
- 本站飞花令语料 feihualing.db（poem 297300） — 文本以通行本为准，库本仅行级参考（库本与通行本一致）
- Original English paraphrase & gloss — 本站原创学习释义，非文学译本（plain-English guide, not a literary translation）
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