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Zhōng QiūMid-Autumn 中秋

Li Pu (李朴, also known as Li P'u)｜Northern Song｜seven-character regulated verse

The full mid-autumn moon divides the season and lights a thousand miles.

Original Chinese text with pinyin

皓魄当空宝镜升
hào pò dāng kōng bǎo jìng shēng

云间仙籁寂无声
yún jiān xiān lài jì wú shēng

平分秋色一轮满
píng fēn qiū sè yī lún mǎn

长伴云衢千里明
zhǎng bàn yún qú qiān lǐ míng

Simplified characters; traditional title: 中秋. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.

Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.

The bright orb mounts the sky, a precious mirror rising;

among the clouds, immortal music falls silent.

It splits the autumn evenly, one perfect circle,

lighting the road of clouds a thousand miles.

Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.

皓魄当空宝镜升 · hào pò dāng kōng bǎo jìng shēng — The bright orb mounts the sky, a precious mirror rising;

云间仙籁寂无声 · yún jiān xiān lài jì wú shēng — among the clouds, immortal music falls silent.

平分秋色一轮满 · píng fēn qiū sè yī lún mǎn — It splits the autumn evenly, one perfect circle,

长伴云衢千里明 · zhǎng bàn yún qú qiān lǐ míng — lighting the road of clouds a thousand miles.

The full mid-autumn moon divides the season and lights a thousand miles. The scene stays with you.

The full mid-autumn moon divides the season and lights a thousand miles.

Li Pu is remembered for Mid-Autumn verse.

Lifetime: Northern Song. Other famous works: Mid-Autumn (中秋).