A full moon on January 3 makes it the first of the year 2026.
Headlines are calling this a Super Moon and Wolf Moon. Haven't heard many wolves calling lately but we do continue to spot the neighbourhood coyote drinking from our pond and trotting down the street.
This past month I was reading about Wu Wei and also discovered a poet from the Tang dynasty. Du Fu, or Tu Fu, who wrote thousands of verses (712-770). I want to read more about him and from him, because he seemed to embody the struggle between Tao and Confucianism.... effortless effort with nature and honouring the duties and realities of society. For now will share two translations of the same poem, Moonlit Night. Is it even the same poem, or is the title and imagery a coincidence? Translators and readers, both must take liberties.
Moonlit Night by Tu Fu Translated by Stanton HagerTonight, above Fu-chou, stark bright the moon;
At your bedroom window, you gaze at it alone.
Faraway, I ache for our little ones, too young
To recall Ch'ang-an or understand why I'm not at home.
I can smell your fragrant hair damped by mist,
See your jade-white arms chilled by moonlight.
When will we lean again on the same window,
Under the same radiance, all traces of our tears dried?
--Translated by Stanton Hager
in Huangshan Poems from the T'ang Dynasty
(Cape Cod: 21st Editions, 2009)
NOTE: In 756, during the bloody An Lushan Rebellion, Tu Fu lodged his wife and children in the town of Fu-chou, a safe distance from the fighting. On the way back from Fu-chou, he was captured by the rebels and imprisoned in the capital city of Ch'ang-an, where he wrote this poem..
Moonlit Night by Tu Fu Translated by HawkesFar off in Fuzhou she is watching the moonlight,
Watching it alone from the window of her chamber-
For our boy and girl, poor little babes,
Are too young to know where the Capital is.
Her cloudy hair is sweet with mist,
Her jade-white shoulder is cold in the moon.
...When shall we lie again, with no more tears,
Watching this bright light on our screen?
Five-character-regular-verse
notes: This poem dates from 756; Hawkes suggests that it was written at the time of the Mid-Autumn festival, when families traditionally watched the moon together.
A poem dedicated to his wife, Du Fu crafts sweet and sensory language to heighten the sense of longing between husband and wife. The focus of the poem on the moon already creates a sense of loneliness and of secrecy. Readers can infer the Du Fu is away in Chang’an while the rest of his family resides in Fuzhou, and that he and his wife had made deep memories in Chang’an before. In fact, during the An Lushan Rebellion, the two were trapped there for ten years, and naturally, shared many sorrows there together. His comparison of the naivety of his children with the painful truths of adulthood serves to further highlight his past sorrows. The poet goes on to describe the way in which the moon interacts with his wife, revealing his desire to be with her: the 香雾 (sweet-smelling fog) and 清辉 (cold clouds) could represent their relationship, with the moon seeming to substitute the way in which Du Fu would caress his wife. It is only the beautiful yet cold-hearted moon that connects the two.
