Jìng yè sī 静夜思 (In a Quiet Night), a classical Chinese poem composed by Tang poet Li Bo, creates a beautiful moonlight picture in your mind. The moon is always a poetic source in Chinese literature all the time, the moon festival is another evidence too. When you have departed from home for a long time, the moonlight often makes us homesick. That’s why this poem is so popular for Chinese people for thousands of years. You can learn to understand this poem today with ChineseHour teachers here online.

Jìng yè sī 静夜思 In a Quiet Night

李白Li Bai(Tang)
chuáng qián míng yuè guāng
    床     前      明    月    光，
yí  shì  dì shàng shuāng
疑  是   地    上       霜。
jǔ  tóu  wàng míng yuè
举  头      望      明   月，
dī  tóu sī  gùxiāng
低  头  思   故  乡。

【New Words】
静夜思 jìng yè sī, homesick in a quiet night
疑 yí, suspect          举头 jǔ tóu, raise one’s head

【English Translation】
Before my bed shine bright the silver beams,
It seems the autumn frost on the ground so gleams.
I gaze upwards toward the moon in the skies,
And downwards look when a nostalgia does arise.

【Chinese Interpretaion】
宁静的夜晚，撒满了明月的月光，我怀疑是地上的白霜。抬头看到天上的明月，低头思念起那久别自己的故乡。

【Famous Quotations】
举头望明月，低头思故乡。
I gaze upwards toward the moon in the skies,
And downwards look when a nostalgia does arise.