Song Dynasty
望江南·江南月
江南月，清夜满西楼。
云落开时冰吐鉴，浪花深处玉沉钩。
圆缺几时休。
星汉迥，风露入新秋。
丹桂不知摇落恨，素娥应信别离愁。
天上共悠悠。
Translation
The moon over Jiangnan fills the western tower on a clear night. When the clouds part, the full moon appears like an icy mirror; deep among the waves, the crescent seems like a jade hook sinking into the water. When will its waxing and waning ever cease? The Milky Way is distant; wind and dew have entered the first breath of autumn. The cassia tree in the moon knows nothing of the sorrow of falling leaves, yet Chang’e must understand the grief of separation. In heaven, too, this feeling stretches on without end.
Analysis
This ci poem uses the moon not merely as scenery but as an emotional structure. The opening line places the speaker in a quiet night in Jiangnan, where moonlight fills the western tower. The images of the moon as an “icy mirror” and a “jade hook” are especially delicate: one suggests fullness, the other incompleteness; one appears in the clearing clouds, the other sinks into the depth of the waves. Through these paired images, the poem turns the visible moon into a symbol of human meeting and parting. The question “When will its waxing and waning ever cease?” shifts the poem from observation to reflection. In the second stanza, the vast Milky Way, the wind and dew of early autumn, the cassia tree, and Chang’e all deepen the sense of separation. The moon’s mythology becomes a mirror of human sorrow. The cassia tree may not know loss, but Chang’e, lonely in the moon palace, must understand parting. The final line broadens private longing into a universal feeling: sorrow is not confined to earth; it seems to stretch even through heaven.
About the Author
Wang Qi, courtesy name Junyu, was a Northern Song official and writer from Huayang who later lived in Shuzhou. Born into a cultured official family, he passed the imperial examination and served in several scholarly and administrative posts. Although relatively few of his ci poems survive, his work is known for elegance, clarity, and restrained feeling. He often uses natural scenes—moonlight, autumn air, and Jiangnan landscapes—to suggest separation and the instability of human affairs. “Jiangnan Moon” is a fine example of his ability to turn a luminous scene into a meditation on longing.