Tang Dynasty
Spring Mountain Night Moon
Yu Liangshi
春山多胜事，赏玩夜忘归。
掬水月在手，弄花香满衣。
兴来无远近，欲去惜芳菲。
南望鸣钟处，楼台深翠微。
Translation
Spring mountains hold many lovely things; wandering and enjoying them, I forget to return even when night falls. I scoop up water, and the moon seems to rest in my hands. I play with the flowers, and their fragrance fills my robe. When delight comes, distance no longer matters. When I am about to leave, I cannot bear to part from the blossoms and grasses. Looking south toward the place where a bell is sounding, towers and terraces lie hidden deep in the green mountain mist.
Analysis
This poem describes a spring night in the mountains. It is not simply a daylight landscape, nor merely a moonlit scene. It combines spring mountains, moonlight, water, flowers, fragrance, bell sounds, and distant buildings into a clear and immersive experience. The opening couplet gives the situation directly. The spring mountains offer so many beautiful things that the poet wanders and enjoys them until night falls, forgetting to return. 'Forgetting to return' does not mean being lost; it means being absorbed. The central couplet is the most famous part of the poem. When the poet scoops up water, the reflected moon appears to be in his hands. When he touches the flowers, their fragrance fills his clothing. These lines are powerful because they make beauty intimate. The moon, normally distant in the sky, becomes something held in the hands. Fragrance, normally invisible, becomes something worn on the body. The next couplet describes the psychology of wandering. When the mood comes, there is no sense of distance; when it is time to leave, the flowers and grasses become hard to part from. The poem captures the real feeling of a good excursion: distance disappears during enjoyment, and attachment appears at the moment of departure. The final couplet extends the scene into the distance. A bell is heard to the south, and towers or terraces are hidden deep in the green mountain haze. Sound and sight work together here: the bell suggests human presence, but the buildings remain partly concealed. The ending is spacious and lingering. The poem's charm lies in the closeness between body and landscape. The speaker does not merely look at the mountains. He touches water, handles flowers, hears bells, sees moonlight, and moves through the night. Spring scenery becomes a lived, physical experience.
About the Author
Yu Liangshi was a Middle Tang poet about whom little biographical information survives. His extant works are few, but 'Spring Mountain Night Moon' became widely admired for its fresh imagery and lucid atmosphere. The couplet 'I scoop up water, and the moon is in my hands; I play with flowers, and fragrance fills my robe' is especially famous. It captures a key pleasure of Tang landscape poetry: the intimate encounter between the human body and the natural world.