Hi everyone! September has arrived. With students returning back to school, that signals the end of the summer, and life has returned back to normal for everyone. For the Chinese, September has a special meaning as it’s August in the lunar calendar. And in August we have one of the most important festival that originates from the moon. From as far back as five thousand years ago, the moon has had a special place in the Chinese life and culture, and represent the time for family reunion.
Over the years , there have been many stories, folklore and poems about the moon. Today we will introduce a Tang poem about this topic.
各位好，九月到了！九月意味著炎熱的暑期完結，學生重拾學業，一切回歸正軌。而對華人來說，九月更是特別的月份，因為在九月，同時是農曆的八月，我們擁有一個讓一家團圓的節日，一個來自月亮的節日。月亮，在華人心中一直有特別的意思，擁有最重要的文化意義，早在五千年前，中國人已開始祭祀月亮。月亮在華人心中代表團圓，與家人、宗族的團圓。故同時在我們離鄉時，月亮就代表著思念，思念家人。
在這樣的情況下，月亮在中國古代造就了很多故事、神話、同時也有無數以月亮為主題的詩歌。故我們就在這個月多一點為大家介紹與月亮有關的唐詩吧
The night on 15th August (part 1) by DU Fu 八月十五夜月 （其一）杜甫
This poem was written by DU Fu when he had to flee to Sichuan province during the rebellion and famine period. It is the mid autumn festival, traditionally the time for family get together, yet he was stranded there not knowing when he would see his family again.
這首詩應是杜甫在蜀中避亂時作。他在中秋夜睹月思鄉，表達了人在異鄉、漂泊無依的哀愁。
The meaning of the poem 作品大意
滿月飛明鏡，歸心折大刀。 mǎn yuè fēi míng jìng ， guī xīn zhē dà dāo 。
轉蓬行地遠，攀桂仰天高。 zhuǎn péng xíng dì yuǎn ， pān guì yǎng tiān gāo 。
水路疑霜雪，林棲見羽毛。 shuǐ lù yí shuāng xuě ， lín qī jiàn yǔ máo 。
此時瞻白兔，直欲數秋毫。 cǐ shí zhān bái tù ， zhí yù shù qiū háo 。
The full moon reflects on to a bright mirror, I'm so anxious to return home that I can almost break the cleaver
明亮的鏡子中有著滿月，歸家之迫切足以折斷大刀。
I'm like wild grass swinging amongst the wind, far away from homeland. I want to climb onto the laurel tree on the moon, yet the sky is so high.
我像蓬草一樣隨風漂泊，遠離故鄉；想要攀上月宮的桂樹，無奈天空太高。
The dew on the ground is as white as snow, and the birds in the forest are showing their young feathers.
路上的霜露如雪般潔白，林中棲息的鳥兒展現出了羽毛。
As I look above to the jade rabbit in the moon palace, I can literally counts its it's fine feathers.
此時仰望月宮中的玉兔，簡直能數清牠的毫毛。
Trivia fact 趣味小知識
The sentence “I'm so anxious to return home that I can almost break the cleaver” originates from the folklore about WU Gang chopping a tree. There are many versions of this story, and one goes as follows: When Wu Kang left home for three years to study, the grandson of Yan Emperor (a legendary ancient emperor) had an affair with his wife. When Wu found out, he killed the grandson. Yan Emperor was very angry, banished Wu to the moon and ordered him to chop a laurel tree as a punishment. The laurel tree is an immortal tree, each time Wu chopped it down, it re-grew again, so Wu ended up doing hard labour for the rest of his life.
詩中的「歸心折大刀」一句，應是來自吳剛砍樹的典故。關於這件事有民間有許多傳說，其中一個便是：炎帝之孫伯陵，趁著吳剛離家三年學仙道，和吳剛的妻子私通。吳剛得知後大怒，殺了伯陵。這得罪了炎帝，於是他把吳剛流放到月亮上，令他砍伐不死之樹——月桂。月桂高達五百丈，一砍即合。炎帝就是利用這種永無止境的勞動作為對吳剛的懲罰。
Highlights of the poem 精選詩句
「轉蓬行地遠，攀桂仰天高」 zhuǎn péng xíng dì yuǎn ， pān guì yǎng tiān gāo
Zhuǎn péng describes the grass that swings around as the wind blows. The poet uses this to describe his situation, stranded at a foreign place not knowing what the future holds. He longs to go home to see his family, yet this is as difficult as reaching the moon.
「轉蓬」指蓬草，遇風便飛轉。作者在此不僅表達了人在異鄉、漂泊無依的鄉愁，還抒發了戰亂之時身不由己的無奈，感人至深。中秋時節是家人團聚之時，可作者卻遠離家鄉，歸家就如登月攀桂般遙不可及！
「此時瞻白兔，直欲數秋毫」cǐ shí zhān bái tù ， zhí yù shù qiū háo
The moon during the mid autumn festival is the brightest, but the poet’s spirit is low and bleak. He uses a white jade rabbit to represent the bright moon, the brighter the moon, the lower his spirit. The contrast between the two brings out the sentiment of the poem.
中秋之月是明亮的，作者的心情卻是灰暗的。作者這裏以「白兔」代明月。月光越明亮、越耀眼，作者的心情就越灰暗、越低落。作者運用了反襯的手法，讓落寞的情感變得更為感人。
The mid autumn festival is one of the four main Chinese festivals. It is customary for families to get together at this time and to have dinner together. We hope you will be able to catch up with your family during the mid autumn festival this year!
中秋是華人四大重要節日，每個家庭怎都會抽時間聚首一堂，一起吃一個團圓飯，在這裡希望每一位都能與家人好好團聚，不要錯失重要時節！
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://ccp-hk.vornix.blog/2018/09/06/ccp16/