中秋献诗

明月几时有，把酒问青天。
不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。
我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。
起舞弄清影，何似在人间。

转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。
不应有恨，何事长向别时圆。
人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。
但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

When did the bright moon shine? Raising my wine-cup, I ask the azure sky.

And wonder, in the celestial height, what year is it tonight?

I long to ride the wind and return, but fear the lunar jade palace on high, would be as cold as ice.

I start to dance with my clear shadow, what could be better than this earthly life!

Turning toward the splendid pavilion, dipping into the lace window,

and upon the sleepless it shines.

The moon has no reason to spite, then why is she full whenever we part?

Man has sorrow and joy, parting and meeting, moon is dark and light, waxing and waning,

it has never been perfect on both sides.

I wish men would have long lives, though miles apart we can share this lovely sight!

During the Mid-Autumn festival celebration every year, you only hear the poem ‘Reminiscences on a Mid-Autumn Night to the tune of Prelude to the Water Melody’ (水调歌头 Shuidiao Getou) by Su Shi (Su Dong Po) being recited at gatherings, or the song 但愿人长久, as sung by Teresa Teng or Wang Fei, being broadcast over the airwaves!

Many blogs and websites claimed that the People's Daily published a well-known list titled "The 10 Greatest Poems in Chinese History", and ‘Shuidiao Getou’ ranks first on this list. This list has been described as being compiled by ‘a large group of literary experts and professors,’ though the selection criteria and date of the original publication were never publicly disclosed. Although this poem has not been officially voted as the greatest Chinese poem ever written, it is widely considered as one of the greatest poems in history by Chinese-speaking people, and it has a very strong claim to being the greatest poem about the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The poem's reputation as the definitive masterpiece of Mid-Autumn Festival poetry far predates the supposedly People's Daily listing. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the scholarHu Zai (胡仔) had already declared in his ‘Tiaoxi Yuyinconghua’ (苕溪渔隐丛话): "Ever since Dongpo's 'Shuidiao Getou' appeared, all other Mid-Autumn poems have been rendered obsolete."

It was composed in the year 1076 AD during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. Su Shi had requested a transfer away from Kaifeng to Mizhuo (present-day Zhucheng, Shandong) because he opposed the radical reforms of Wang Anshi. The poem was addressed to his younger brother Su Zhe (子由), who was his closest friend and intellectual companion. Not only did they grow up together, but they also passed the civil exams together. That mid-Autumn night, Su Zhe was serving as an official in Jinan, Shandong, about 200 km away. However, due to official duties and travel restrictions, they had not seen each other for seven years. Similar to the Spring Festival, which marks the time for planting, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which marks the time for harvesting, is also the time for family reunions. Hence, this separation was unbearable!

The poem, however, is not simply about the pain of separation. Its true brilliance lies in how it moves through three different emotional-philosophical dimensions. Su Shi started with the cosmic question, “When did the bright moon shine?” His own reply, “I long to ride the wind and return” (乘风归去) is a Taoist metaphor for withdrawing from the messy human world! He, however, hesitated as he “feared the lunar jade palace on high would be as cold as ice” (恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒). The "cold" is not just physical; it is also spiritual isolation. He realized that the celestial realm cannot replace human warmth! In the second stanza, Su Shi then expressed the pain of separation with the phases of the moon, “Man has sorrow and joy, parting and meeting, moon is dark and light, waxing and waning”. He stoically accepted that “it has never been perfect on both sides.” Finally, instead of ending the poem in sorrow, he transformed the pain of separation into a delightful blessing: “I wish men would have long lives, though miles apart we can share this lovely sight” (但愿人长久，千里共婵娟).

This last line of the poem is one of the most quoted utterances in the Chinese-speaking world!