Laijon Liu (06/27/1975 / Dalian, China)

Li Bai: Toast to the Moon
Li Bai of Tang Dynasty
Translated by Laijon Liu 20090301

When the moon shall be bright?
Let me hold up my cup to ponder.
Human can never pluck the moon,
But she always goes with our step.
Shines as a mirror over red palace,
And thru the green mist she glitters.
The night wraps around from sea,
And dawn disappears into clouds.
White rabbit grinds in all seasons, (1)
And goddess lives without a friend.
This moon is not of ancient times,
But it once shone upon ancestors.
Our ancestors and we as streams,
And together we looked up to her.
I can only sing and pour my wine,
And wish she often shines into my cup.

Note:
(1) Fairy tale that there was white rabbit making medicine powder for goddess Chang E who lived on the moon alone. For she stole her husband’s immortal pill that they obtained from the Emperor of Heaven Palace, because her husband, Huo Yi was a saintly archer descended from heaven to earth and shot down 9 suns, and left only 1 up in the sky, so all human were saved, but he could never go back to be a god again, so he married a young beautiful lady, Chang E, but the Empress of Heaven Palace (the mother of the Emperor) heard Huo Yi’s heroic deed, gifted him an immortal pill, that he could be a god again, but if he only ate half of it, he could live forever. So he told his wife Chang E, that he did not want to be a god, but want to share the immortal pill together with her, so they could live on earth forever and their love should last forever. But at the full moon night, when it should be their medicine time, Chang E could not resist to be a goddess, so she did not wait for her husband to come back home, and she swallowed the whole pill. And her body was lifted, she could not hold down and put her feet on earth, so she floated and landed on the moon. After that, she lived on the moon, wailing every night for her stupid mistake. The fairy tale tells that people rather be in love even if just for a moment, still don’t want to be a god or goddess, and sitting eternally in loneliness and grief. To be a god, one must pay a great price; he or she must abandon love. As me reading and writing poems, and listening classical music every night, so I must be alone: -) , yet it does not mean I am a god, but almost: -)

Chinese:
把 酒 问 月
作 者 : 李 白

青 天 有 月 来 几 时 ， 我 今 停 杯 一 问 之 。
人 攀 明 月 不 可 得 ， 月 行 却 与 人 相 随 。
皎 如 飞 镜 临 丹 阙 ， 绿 烟 灭 尽 清 辉 发 。
但 见 宵 从 海 上 来 ， 宁 知 晓 向 云 间 没 。
白 兔 捣 药 秋 复 春 ， 嫦 娥 孤 栖 与 谁 邻 。
今 人 不 见 古 时 月 ， 今 月 曾 经 照 古 人 。
古 人 今 人 若 流 水 ， 共 看 明 月 皆 如 此 。
唯 愿 当 歌 对 酒 时 ， 月 光 常 照 金 樽 里 。