Gazing at the Moon, Longing for One Far Away
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
天涯共此时。
情人怨遥夜，
竟夕起相思。
灭烛怜光满，
披衣觉露滋。
不堪盈手赠，
还寝梦佳期。
English translation
Over the sea the bright moon is born, at the world's end we share this moment.
Lovers resent the long night, all evening, longing for each other rises.
I put out the candle, loving the fullness of light, I put on my robe and feel the dew grow damp.
I cannot fill my hands and give it to you, so I go back to bed and dream of our meeting.
Meaning
A bright moon rises over the boundless sea, and it makes me think of dear ones far at the world's end, who must at this very hour be gazing at the same moon.
Passionate hearts all resent the length of a moonlit night, and lie awake the whole night thinking of those they love.
I blow out the candle, loving the moonlight that fills the room, and put on my robe and pace about, feeling deeply the chill of the night dew.
Bright as the moonlight is, it cannot be given to you, so I had best go back to my dreams and seek there the hour of reunion.
Background
Read the background
In the twenty-first year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (733), Zhang Jiuling, then serving as chancellor at court, was slandered and pushed aside by the treacherous chancellor Li Linfu, and in the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan (736) was dismissed from the chancellorship. "Gazing at the Moon, Thinking of One Far Away" should have been written after Zhang Jiuling was demoted in the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan to be the chief administrator of Jingzhou; it belongs to the same period as the twelve poems "What I Have Met With."