望月懷遠｜Looking at the moon, I long for those dear and far

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TRANSLATION

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海上生明月，

Above the seas rises a bright moon;

天涯共此時。

We at the far-flung edges of the sky share this moment in time.$^1$

情人怨遙夜，

The tender-hearted$^2$ resent the lingering night,

竟夕起相思。

Kept awake through the night by longing$^3$.

滅燭憐光滿，

Extinguishing the candles, I treasure the moonlight filling the room;

披衣覺露滋。

Draping my robes around myself, I feel the damp chill of dew.

不堪盈手贈，

We cannot cradle the glowing moonlight in our hands to gift it to each other,

還寢夢佳期。

So we return to our dreams, hoping to seek joyful reunions$^4$ there.

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FOOTNOTES

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“Above the seas rises a bright moon; we at the far-flung edges of the sky share this moment in time”—海上生明月，天涯共此時. The sentiments expressed in this couplet find echoes in two poems in particular: the first being 《月賦》 / Rhapsody on the moon by the poet 謝莊 Xie Zhuang, who lived during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (“隔千里兮共明月” / A thousand miles apart, we share the same bright moon); the second being, of course, 《水調歌頭·明月幾時有》 / Melody of the waters: When did the bright moon rise? by the Song poet 蘇軾 Su Shi (“但願人長久，千里共嬋娟” / But let us all live long, that we may share the same moon across a thousand miles).
“Tender-hearted”—情人, which in this case refers to 多情的人 / those who experience a richness of emotion. The binome itself, however, is usually translated as lovers.
“Longing”—相思, often—but not always—used to refer to that of separated lovers.
“Joyful reunions”—佳期, used to refer to romantic dates (or even weddings). </aside>