唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
春江花月夜
Moonlit Night on the Spring River
春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮生。
滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明。
江流宛转绕芳甸，月照花林皆似霰。
空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见。
江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮。
江畔何人初见月？
江月何年初照人？
人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似。
不知江月待何人，但见长江送流水。
白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁。
谁家今夜扁舟子？
何处相思明月楼？
可怜楼上月裴回，应照离人妆镜台。
玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来。
此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君。
鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文。
昨夜闲潭梦落花，可怜春半不还家。
江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜。
斜月沉沉藏海雾，碣石潇湘无限路。
不知乘月几人归，落月摇情满江树。
And the bright moon rises with the tide.
Glistening ripples stretch for a thousand miles,
Where the spring river is not bright with moonlight.
The river winds around the fragrant fields,
Moonlight on flowering trees like snow grains.
Frost-like moonlight drifts unnoticed,
White sand on the bank unseen.
The river and sky are one without a speck of dust,
Alone in the sky the bright moon wheel.
Who by the river first saw the moon?
When did the river moon first shine on man?
Generations come and go without end,
But the river moon looks the same year after year.
I wonder whom the moon is waiting for,
Seeing only the long river sending off water.
A white cloud drifts away slowly,
The green maple bank is full of grief.
Tonight whose boat is the wanderer on?
Where is the moonlit tower of his beloved?
The moon lingers upon the tower,
Shining on the dressing table of the parting one.
She rolls up the curtain but cannot roll it away,
On the washing stone it returns after being brushed.
They gaze at the same moon but cannot hear each other,
She wishes to follow the moonlight to shine on you.
The wild goose flies far but cannot escape the light,
Fish and dragons leap and leave ripples on the water.
Last night he dreamed of falling petals in the idle pond,
Alas spring is half gone but he cannot go home.
The river water carries spring away to its end,
The falling moon slants west over the river pool.
The slanting moon sinks deep into the sea fog,
From Jieshi to Xiaoxiang the distance is endless.
I wonder how many can return by moonlight,
The falling moon stirs feelings all over the river trees.
Meaning
The poem depicts a moonlit night on the spring river, blending natural scenery with philosophical reflections on eternity and human life, and concludes with the melancholy of separation between wanderer and beloved.
春夜的江潮与大海连成一片平阔，海面上那轮明月随潮水一同升起。在月光照耀下波光粼粼绵延千万里，哪一处春江不沐浴在明月之中。江水宛转绕过芬芳的郊野，月色洒在花林上宛如一层雪珠闪烁。空中流泻的清辉似霜非霜，教人觉不出飞动；岸上白沙与月色融成一片难以分辨。江天澄澈一色不染微尘，唯有皎皎孤月悬在当空。江边是谁第一个望见这轮明月？江月又是在哪一年最初照耀人间？人生代代更迭没有穷尽，江月年年望去却总是相似。不知江月在等待何人，只看见长江不停地送走流水。一片白云悠悠飘远，青枫浦上离人愁绪难禁。今夜是哪家的游子独在舟中？又是哪处的明月楼里独守的思妇？可怜楼上徘徊的月光，正该照着离人的梳妆台；玉帘卷也卷不去，捣衣石上拂了又来。此时两地相望却听不见彼此，只愿随月华流转去照耀远方的人。鸿雁长飞也飞不出月光的边界，鱼龙潜跃只在水面激起波纹。昨夜梦见闲潭边落花，可叹春已过半仍未归家。江水流送着春天将要流尽，江潭上的落月又向西倾斜。斜月沉沉隐入海雾，从碣石到潇湘路途无限遥远。不知有几人能乘月归家，落月摇荡着情思洒满江边的树林。
Appreciation
The poem progresses from scene to thought, then to emotion. The moon serves as the central image, connecting the cosmic and the personal. The famous lines 'Generations come and go without end, but the river moon looks the same year after year' express a serene acceptance of human transience against eternal nature.
【白话串讲】 一千三百年里，没有一首诗能同时装下月亮、宇宙，和一个等爱的人。写下它的张若虚，一生只存诗两首，却凭这一篇赢得“孤篇压全唐”的盛名。 【意象与手法】 全诗三十六句，四句一转韵，句式随情感流转，被誉为“诗中的诗，顶峰上的顶峰”。其艺术最突出处在“情景理交融” 【情感与主旨】 张若虚是初唐诗人，生平记载极少，《全唐诗》仅存其诗两首，却以一篇《春江花月夜》“以孤篇压倒全唐”（闻一多语） 【名句点睛】 常考“人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似”的哲理（个体生命有限而人类绵延永恒）
Background
Zhang Ruoxu, a Tang poet with scant biographical records, has only two surviving poems. This poem revitalized the old yuefu theme 'Spring River Flower Moon Night', traditionally a palace-style love poem, into a grand meditation on time, space, and human longing, hailed as 'a single masterpiece surpassing the entire Tang' by Wen Yiduo.
张若虚《春江花月夜》是初唐向盛唐过渡期的七言歌行杰作。张若虚（约660—约720），扬州人，与贺知章、张旭、包融并称“吴中四士”，生平史料极简，《旧唐书》《新唐书》均无传，《全唐诗》仅存其诗两首（《春江花月夜》与《代答闺梦还》），却以此一篇“以孤篇压倒全唐”（闻一多语）。此诗所咏为江南春江月夜之景与游子思妇之怀，其创作契机已不可确考，然从诗中“青枫浦”“碣石潇湘”等地名可见，诗人当亲历或神游于长江中下游的春江之畔——“碣石”在北方（曹操《观沧海》所临），“潇湘”在南方（今湖南），以两地极言离人路途之远，未必实指，而是以空间的辽阔写相思的无涯。时代背景上，初唐宫体诗久染绮靡，多写闺情而乏气象；张若虚此诗虽亦写游子思妇（宫体常题），却能脱出艳情，将一时一地之离愁升华为对宇宙、人生、永恒的哲思，故闻一多《宫体诗的自赎》誉之为“诗中的诗，顶峰上的顶峰”，视其为宫体诗的自我救赎。版本方面，此诗最早见《乐府诗集》卷四十七《清商曲辞·吴声歌曲》，题为《春江花月夜》，属乐府旧题；后世诸本文字基本一致，唯“月裴回”或作“月徘徊”，“裴回”为古字，更雅。明人李攀龙《唐诗选》、清人沈德潜《唐诗别裁》皆录之，至闻一多、程千帆方抉发其真正价值。
Art
The poem uses a seven-character ancient style with four-line rhyme shifts. Its artistry lies in seamless fusion of scene, philosophy, and emotion: the moonlit landscape is vividly sketched, the philosophical query is cosmic, and the lingering love is tenderly expressed through concrete images like wild geese and fish.
此诗艺术之妙，可括为“情景理三端交融、章法以月为脉、句式随情流转”。全诗三十六句，以“月”为唯一贯穿意象，从月生、月照、月徘、月落，写尽一夜之月程；以“江”为空间底色，春江、江流、江天、江潭交织，构成空阔的江南春夜图。结构上四句一转韵、一换境，凡九韵九段：起段写江月共生之壮（潮平、月出、千里、芳甸），继写澄空孤月之洁，转入“江畔何人初见月”的哲理叩问，再落到游子思妇的离愁（扁舟子、明月楼、玉帘、砧石），终以落月摇情收束，由景入理、由理入情、由情归景，浑然一气。修辞上最见功力者在“对写”：游子与思妇两地相望而“不相闻”，以“谁家今夜扁舟子，何处相思明月楼”的互问，将单方相思化为双向牵挂；又以“玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来”写月光之难遣，以“鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文”写传书之无路，层层逼出“愿逐月华流照君”的痴愿。语言上“可怜”“不知”“但见”等虚词穿插，如歌如叹，一唱三叹。王夫之《姜斋诗话》谓“两句一联，波折入妙”，正点其以月为经、以情为纬的浑成之境。
Allusions
The references to wild geese and fish allude to ancient messengers of letters, but here they fail to convey messages, emphasizing the separation. 'Jieshi' and 'Xiaoxiang' represent distant north and south, highlighting the vast distance between lovers. The poem draws from earlier traditions of moonlit nostalgia yet transforms them.
此诗虽为歌行，用典却隐于意象脉络，深得《楚辞》、汉魏乐府与六朝吴声之神。其一是乐府题源：《春江花月夜》本为陈后主、隋炀帝所制的清商吴声旧曲，多写绮艳，张若虚借旧题而翻新意，化艳曲为哲理，是“借题发挥”的典范。其二是“江月”传统：谢庄《月赋》“隔千里兮共明月”已将月设为异地相思之媒；张九龄“海上生明月，天涯共此时”同写江月与远思，张若虚“何处春江无月明”正承此脉而更拓空间。其三是“问月”：《楚辞·天问》启仰天发问之体，李白“青天有月来几时”得其神，而张若虚“江畔何人初见月，江月何年初照人”更早以江月叩问时空之本原，开唐人“问月”哲理之先。其四是“传书”故实：“鸿雁”用《汉书·苏武传》雁足系书，“鱼龙”用古乐府“客从远方来，遗我双鲤鱼”的鱼素之喻，皆写相思难寄；“捣衣砧”则承六朝闺怨（如谢惠连《捣衣诗》）的思妇传统；“妆镜台”近《木兰诗》“当窗理云鬓”的闺阁意象。其五是“碣石潇湘”：碣石用曹操《观沧海》，潇湘用《楚辞·湘夫人》的湘水意象，一北一南极言路远。张若虚熔乐府、楚辞、汉魏于一炉，而归于初唐的清丽，故能“以孤篇压全唐”。
Commentary
Wen Yiduo called it 'the poem of poems, the peak of peaks', saying it redeemed the palace-style poetry of centuries. Li Zehou saw it as a 'peak experience' from palace poetry to cosmic reflection, marking the Tang's confident and expansive spirit.
此诗在唐代并不显赫，至明以后声价渐隆，近世更被推为千古绝唱。明代钟惺、谭元春《唐诗归》评：“浅浅说去，节节相生，使人伤情。”李攀龙《唐诗选》收录，始广其传。清代王夫之《姜斋诗话》虽严于持论，亦赏其“句句生情，时时变调”。沈德潜《唐诗别裁》谓“前半写景，后半写情，而景中寓情，情中带理”。至现代，闻一多《宫体诗的自赎》一文抉发其价值，称“这是诗中的诗，顶峰上的顶峰”，以为宫体诗至张若虚而洗尽铅华、自成高格，此评几成定论。程千帆《张若虚〈春江花月夜〉的被理解和被误解》则辨析其非简单“宫体”，而是宇宙意识的觉醒。李泽厚《美的历程》将诗中“人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似”读作初唐人“对时间和永恒的深沉喟叹”，以为体现了“短暂与永恒”的哲理之美。叶嘉莹讲此诗，特重“江月”作为“永恒”与“个体生命”对照的象征——江月无情而年年相似，人生有情而代代更迭，这种对照正是全诗悲剧与超越并存的根基。在传播史上，此诗由明入清渐成必录，现代更入选各级教材，与《登高》《静夜思》并列为唐诗中“以少胜多”的极致。
Prosody
Line by line
春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮生。 滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明。 江流宛转绕芳甸，月照花林皆似霰。 空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见。
The spring river joins the sea; the moon rises with the tide, opening a vast and majestic scene. Her shimmering light follows the waves for a thousand, ten thousand li; where on the spring river is there no moonlight? The winding river encircles fragrant meadows; moonlight on flowers is like sparkling hailstones. We do not feel the frost drift through the air; the white sand on the shoal is blended and unseen.
春夜江潮与大海连成一片平阔，明月随潮涌起；月光照耀下波光绵延千万里，江流绕芳甸，月照花林如霰，空中流霜、白沙难辨。
The spring tide joins the sea in a level expanse; the bright moon rises from the sea with the tide. The shimmering light follows the waves thousands of li; where on the spring river is there no bright moon? The river winds round the fragrant fields; the moonlight on the flowering groves is like sparkling hail. Flying frost drifts in the air unfelt; the white sand on the islet can scarcely be seen.
开篇四句为全诗定调，以“江”“月”二字立骨，拓开万里空阔之境。首联“春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮生”写江海相接、潮月同涌——春江涨潮与大海齐平，海面那轮明月随潮水一同升起，“共潮生”三字将月之出现写得不是孤悬天际，而是与潮水共生共长，赋予明月以动态与生命。颔联“滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明”以“滟滟”写波光粼粼，“千万里”极言月色铺展之广，“何处……无”以反问写月之无处不照，空间由近及远、由实入虚。后四句由江面转入岸边：“江流宛转绕芳甸”写江水曲折绕野，“月照花林皆似霰”以“霰”（雪珠）喻月光洒落花林之晶莹；“空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见”写月色之白竟使空中飞霜、岸上白沙与月色混成一片，难辨彼此。八句由江及岸、由水及林、由明及混，以“月”统摄万物，景物澄明而气象宏阔，已为后文“孤月轮”“初见月”的哲思预作铺陈。
The opening four lines set the whole's key, establishing its bone on the two words river and moon and opening a boundless empty realm. The first couplet, the spring river joins the sea; the moon rises with the tide, writes river and sea meeting and tide and moon rising together - the spring tide level with the sea, the moon on the sea rising with the tide, the three words with the tide writing the moon's appearance not as a lone thing hung in the sky but as born and growing together with the tide, giving the moon motion and life. The second couplet uses the word shimmering for the sparkling waves, a thousand ten thousand li for the breadth of the moonlight, and the rhetorical where... no for the moon's shining everywhere, space moving from near to far, from real to void. The last four lines move from the river surface to the banks: the winding river encircles fragrant meadows writes the river curving round the wilds; moonlight on flowers is like sparkling hailstones uses the hail (snow pellets) for the crystal of moonlight on the flowering groves. We do not feel the frost drift; the white sand on the shoal is blended, writing the moonlight's whiteness blending the flying frost and the shore sand into one. The eight lines move from river to bank, from water to grove, from brightness to blending, using the moon to unify all things, the scenery pure and the air vast, already preparing for the later lone moon wheel and first saw the moon's philosophy.
江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮。 江畔何人初见月？江月何年初照人？ 人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似。 不知江月待何人，但见长江送流水。
River and sky are one color, without a speck of dust; in the radiant sky hangs the lone wheel of the moon. Who first, by the river, saw the moon? In what year did the river moon first shine on men? Men pass from generation to generation, unending; the river moon, year after year, seems the same. I know not whom the moon waits for; I only see the Long River carrying the waters away.
江天澄澈一色无尘，孤月当空；诗人问江畔谁初见月、江月何年初照人，又悟人生代代无穷、江月年年相似，不知江月待谁，唯见长江送水。
River and sky blend into one pure hue, without a speck of dust; the lone moon wheel shines in the bright sky. Who was the first, by the riverbank, to see the moon? In what year did the river moon first shine on man? Human lives pass on, generation after generation, without end; the river moon, year after year, remains much the same. Unknown whom the river moon awaits; we only see the Long River sending the waters on.
此段是全诗的哲理核心，由写景陡转入对宇宙人生的叩问，境界为之一变。“江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮”先以澄澈无尘的江天、孤悬当空的明月，营造纯净至极的哲思空间，“孤”字既写月之独，亦暗引“人”之独。“江畔何人初见月？江月何年初照人”两句以《天问》式的仰天发问，追问月与人的本原关系——谁第一个见月？月第一次照谁？这种对时空起点的追问，已超出宫体艳情，进入存在之思。下联“人生代代无穷已，江月年年望相似”以“代代”对“年年”、“无穷已”对“望相似”，写出个体生命的有限（代代更迭）与江月永恒的对照，是为全诗最著哲理句；“不知江月待何人，但见长江送流水”以“不知”的怅惘与“但见”的恒常作结，江月无言而长江不息，个体在永恒面前的渺小与眷恋尽在其中。八句由景入理，由理生情，是“情景理交融”的巅峰，亦初唐人宇宙意识觉醒的标本。
This section is the philosophical core of the whole, turning abruptly from scenery to the questioning of the cosmos and life, the realm at once changed. River and sky are one color... the lone wheel of the moon first creates, through the pure dustless river-sky and the lone moon, a space of utter philosophical purity; the word lone at once writes the moon's singleness and secretly introduces man's singleness. Who first, by the river, saw the moon? In what year did the river moon first shine on men? uses a Heavenly Questions style of gazing at the sky, pressing the original relation of moon and man - who first saw the moon? On whom did the moon first shine? This pressing of the origin of time and space already passes beyond the palace-style eroticism into the thought of existence. The next couplet, men pass from generation to generation, unending; the river moon, year after year, seems the same, sets generation against year and unending against the same, writing the contrast between the finiteness of individual life (generations turning) and the eternity of the river moon, the most philosophical couplet of the whole. I know not whom the moon waits for; I only see the Long River carrying the waters away closes in the longing of I know not and the constancy of I only see, the moon silent and the Long River unceasing, the individual's smallness and longing before eternity all within. The eight lines move from scenery to reason, from reason to feeling, the peak of the fusion of feeling, scenery, and reason, and the specimen of the early Tang's awakening cosmic consciousness.
白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁。 谁家今夜扁舟子？何处相思明月楼？ 可怜楼上月裴回，应照离人妆镜台。 玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来。
A single cloud drifts slowly away; on the Green Maple Shore the sorrow is more than man can bear. Whose boat is afloat tonight? In whose tower does the moon wake longing? Pity the moon that lingers on the tower; it must shine on the parted woman's mirror. Roll up the jade curtain - the light will not go; brush it from the washing block - it returns again.
白云悠悠去，青枫浦上愁；今夜谁家游子、何处思妇，月徘徊照离人妆台，玉帘卷不去、砧上拂还来。
A single white cloud drifts slowly away; sorrow on the Green Maple Shore is past bearing. Whose husband tonight is adrift in his little boat? In which tower does someone pine in the moonlight? Pity the moon lingering on the tower; it must shine on the parted wife's dressing mirror. Through the jade door curtain it cannot be rolled away; from the washing-block, brushed off, it comes again.
此段由宇宙哲思落回人世离愁，转入游子思妇的双写，是全诗情感的实处。“白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁”以飘忽的白云起兴，暗喻游子之远去；“青枫浦”用《楚辞·招魂》“湛湛江水兮上有枫”的潇湘意象，点出离别之地，“不胜愁”三字直揭题旨。继以“谁家今夜扁舟子？何处相思明月楼”的互问，将单方相思化为游子（扁舟子）与思妇（明月楼）的双向牵挂，章法上“谁家”对“何处”，拓展了离愁的普遍性与空间广度。“可怜楼上月裴回，应照离人妆镜台”写月光在楼上徘徊，似有意照临孤眠的思妇，“裴回”（徘徊）赋予月以人的缠绵；“玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来”则以“卷不去”“拂还来”写月光之难遣——卷帘它仍在，拂砧它又来，以月之不去反衬愁之不去，体物入微。八句由景及人、由问及写，将抽象的“愁”化为可触的月、帘、砧，深得六朝闺怨之髓而气象更大。
This section falls from the cosmic thought back to the human parting grief, turning to the double writing of the wanderer and the longing wife, the real place of the whole's feeling. A single cloud drifts slowly away; on the Green Maple Shore the sorrow is more than man can bear rises through the drifting cloud, secretly meta-phoring the wanderer's far going. The Green Maple Shore uses the Chuci Summons of the Soul's vast river waters, with maples on them, pointing the place of parting; the three words more than man can bear directly uncover the theme. Then comes the mutual question of whose boat is afloat tonight? In whose tower does the moon wake longing?, turning one-sided longing into the mutual care of the wanderer (the boat) and the wife (the moonlit tower), the structure setting whose against in which, expanding the universality and spatial breadth of the parting. Pity the moon that lingers on the tower; it must shine on the parted woman's mirror writes the moonlight lingering on the tower, as if purposely shining on the sleepless wife, the lingering giving the moon human tenderness. Roll up the jade curtain - the light will not go; brush it from the washing block - it returns again writes the moonlight's hard-to-dispel - roll the curtain and it remains, brush the block and it returns, using the moon's not leaving to set off the grief's not leaving, observing things to the finest. The eight lines move from scenery to man, from question to writing, turning the abstract sorrow into the palpable moon, curtain, and block, deeply taking up the marrow of the Six Dynasties chamber grievance with a greater air.
此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君。 鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文。 昨夜闲潭梦落花，可怜春半不还家。 江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜。
Now we gaze on the same moon, yet hear no word of each other; I would follow the moonbeams and stream toward you. The wild geese fly far, yet cannot pass the moonlight; the fish and dragons leap, leaving only ripples on the water. Last night I dreamed of flowers falling by the quiet pool; alas, spring is half gone, and I not home. The river flows spring away, nearly spent; the setting moon over the pool slants once more to the west.
此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华照君；鸿雁鱼龙皆难传情，昨夜梦落花、春半未归，江水流春将尽、落月西斜。
Now we look at each other's moon but hear no word; I would follow the moon's light and drift to shine on you. Wild geese fly their longest, yet the moonlight cannot be carried; fish and dragons leap below, rippling the water in vain. Last night I dreamed of flowers falling by the quiet pool; alas, spring is half over and I not yet home. The river flows spring away to its end; the setting moon at the riverside pool slants west once more.
此段写相思之痴与传书之绝，情感由“愁”推进到“愿”与“无奈”，波澜再起。“此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君”写游子思妇虽共对一轮明月（相望），却听不见彼此（不相闻），于是生发出“愿随月光流转去照耀远方之人”的痴愿——“逐月华”三字将无形的思念化为有形的追随，浪漫而深挚。“鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文”用雁足传书、鱼素寄情二典，却说鸿雁飞再远也飞不出月光之界（光不度），鱼龙跃仅在水面激起波纹（水成文）而无书信之实，层层写尽传书无路之绝望，与“愿逐月华”的痴愿形成希望与破灭的反差。后四句由“愿”转“梦”与“逝”：“昨夜闲潭梦落花”写思妇梦回落花，暗伤春去；“可怜春半不还家”点出春已过半、人犹未归；“江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜”以江水送春、落月西斜写时间无情流逝，将个人的等待嵌入自然的代谢。八句由愿而梦、由梦而逝，情感如江流般欲尽未尽，为末段蓄势。
This section writes the longing's obsession and the impossibility of sending word, the feeling advancing from sorrow to wish and helplessness, the waves rising again. Now we gaze on the same moon, yet hear no word; I would follow the moonbeams and stream toward you writes that, though wanderer and wife share one moon (gaze) yet hear nothing of each other (no word), there arises the mad wish to follow the moonlight and shine on the distant person - the three words follow the moonbeams turn the invisible longing into a visible following, romantic and deep. The wild geese fly far, yet cannot pass the moonlight; the fish and dragons leap, leaving only ripples uses the two allusions of the wild goose carrying letters and the fish bearing silk, yet says the geese, flying their farthest, cannot pass the boundary of moonlight, and the fish and dragons, leaping, only raise ripples without the reality of a letter, layer by layer writing to the full the despair of no way to send word, forming the contrast of hope and disillusion against the wish to follow the moonbeams. The last four lines turn from wish to dream and passing: last night I dreamed of flowers falling by the quiet pool writes the wife's dream of falling flowers, secretly grieving spring's going; alas, spring is half over, and I not home points that spring is half gone and the man not returned. The river flows spring away, nearly spent; the setting moon over the pool slants once more to the west writes time's pitiless passage through the river sending spring and the moon's western slant, embedding the individual's waiting in the metabolism of nature. The eight lines move from wish to dream, from dream to passing, the feeling like the river current nearly spent yet not spent, gathering force for the last section.
斜月沉沉藏海雾，碣石潇湘无限路。 不知乘月几人归，落月摇情满江树。
The slanting moon sinks into the sea mist; between Jieshi and Xiao-Xiang the road is endless. How many, riding the moonlight, return home? The setting moon sways with longing, flooding the riverside trees.
斜月藏海雾，碣石潇湘路无限；不知几人乘月归，落月摇情满江树。
The slanting moon sinks deep into the sea mist; between Jieshi and Xiao-Xiang the road stretches on and on. I know not how many ride the moonlight home; the falling moon sways with longing, flooding the riverside trees.
末段为全诗收束，以落月摇情回环起首的江月，余韵悠长。“斜月沉沉藏海雾”写残月西沉、隐入海雾，月程将尽，夜亦将晓；“碣石潇湘无限路”以北方碣石与南方潇湘对举，极言离人相隔之远、归途之漫，空间之大反衬相聚之难。“不知乘月几人归”以“不知”的疑问收束前文“几人”的悬想——月光将尽，而乘月归家者能有几人？淡淡的怅惘中含着对天下离人的普遍悲悯。结句“落月摇情满江树”是千古绝唱：将落的残月把绵绵情思摇荡、洒满江边树林，“摇情”二字将无情之月化为有情之物，情思如月华般铺满天地，景、情、理在此彻底交融，且“满江树”的“满”与开篇“何处春江无月明”的“无……不”遥应，月之铺展亦即情之铺展。全诗由月生起、以月落终，首尾环合，以“月”为经、以“情”为纬，遂成“以孤篇压倒全唐”的鸿篇。
The last section closes the whole, using the setting moon swaying with longing to circle back to the river moon of the opening, the aftertone long. The slanting moon sinks into the sea mist writes the waning moon's western sinking and hiding in the sea fog, the moon's course nearly done and night nearing dawn. Between Jieshi and Xiao-Xiang the road is endless sets the northern Jieshi against the southern Xiao-Xiang, writing to the utmost the parted ones' distance and the long road home, the vast space setting off the difficulty of meeting. I know not how many ride the moonlight home closes the earlier hovering of how many in the question of I know not - the moonlight nearly spent, yet how many ride it home? The faint longing holds the universal pity for all the parted under heaven. The closing line, the setting moon sways with longing, flooding the riverside trees, is a peerless song: the waning moon sways the lingering longing and spills it over the riverside groves, the two words sway with longing turning the passionless moon into a passionate thing, the feeling like the moonlight flooding heaven and earth, scenery, feeling, and reason here fully fused; and the word floods in flooding the riverside trees echoes from afar the opening's where on the spring river is there no moonlight, the moon's spreading being the feeling's spreading. The whole rises from the moon's birth and ends with the moon's setting, head and tail circling, the moon as the warp and feeling as the woof, becoming the great work that with a single poem overcomes all Tang.
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Zhang Jiuling's 'The moon shines over the sea, we share the same time afar' echoes Zhang Ruoxu's cosmic perspective on shared moonlight.
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