Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away | The moon, grown full now over the sea

Translation by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968)

望月怀远

Language: Chinese (中文)

海上生明月， 
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。

Text Authorship:

by Zhang Jiuling (673?5 - 740), "望月怀远" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

[ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in Czech (Čeština), a translation by Bohumil Mathesius (1888 - 1952) [an adaptation] ; composed by Pavel Haas.
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Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Pavel Haas.
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Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Max Oberleithner.
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Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by Dezső Kosztolányi (1885 - 1936) , "Amikor a holdra bámultam s a távollevő kedvesre gondoltam" ; composed by Zoltán Horusitzky.
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Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Erik Blomberg (1894 - 1965) , appears in Jadeberget, kinesisk lyrik från Tangdynastin 618-906 , first published 1944 ; composed by Sven-Erik Bäck, Hilding Rosenberg.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Witter Bynner) , "Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929

Researcher for this page: Fan Yang

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-29
Line count: 8
Word count: 8

Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away

Language: English after the Chinese (中文)

The moon, grown full now over the sea,
Brightening the whole of heaven,
Brings to separated hearts
The long thoughtfulness of night....
It is no darker though I blow out my candle.
It is no warmer though I put on my coat.
So I leave my message with the moon
And turn to my bed, hoping for dreams.

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Text Authorship:

by Witter Bynner (1881 - 1968), "Looking at the moon and thinking of one far away", appears in The Jade Mountain, first published 1929 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Chinese (中文) by Zhang Jiuling (673?5 - 740), "望月怀远"
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

[ None yet in the database ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-07-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 58