唐 Tang · 诗 Poem
月夜
Moonlit Night
更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。
今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。
Tonight I happen to know the spring air is warm; the insect sound newly pierces the green window gauze.
Meaning
The poem catches the fine perception, while lying still on a spring night, of the season's turning. The first two lines write the deep night and shifting stars; the last reveal the return of spring through the newly heard insect song, delicate and full of life.
更深夜半，月色斜照、人家半明半暗；北斗横斜、南斗也偏了方向。今夜偏偏感知到春日的暖气，那虫鸣声仿佛刚刚透过了绿色的窗纱。
Appreciation
The poem writes the fine perception of the seasonal turn while lying quiet on a spring night. The first two lines use moonlight halves the houses and the dipper slants to write the deep night and shifting stars. The last two, led by happen to know the spring air is warm, bring the insect sound newly pierces the green window gauze, writing the return of spring through hearing — clear and lovely, full of life. Halves the houses writes the slant of moonlight; happen to know leads with subjective perception; newly pierces makes the formless spring and insect sound tangible and audible, observing nature with fine precision. It catches the surprise and quiet of that moment from winter to spring, with no feeling-words yet life shows itself — a fine small-sees-large quatrain of the mid-Tang.
【白话串讲】 “更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜”——刘方平写月夜：更深月色，北斗南斗。“今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱”——今夜他感到春气暖，虫声透过绿窗纱。早春的生机，写得这么细腻。 【意象与手法】 “半人家”写月光之斜；“偏知”以主观感知领起；“新透”将无形的春意与虫声写得可触可闻，体物精微。 【情感与主旨】 捕捉冬去春来那一刻的惊喜与宁静，不着情语而生机自见，是中唐绝句“以小见大”的佳作。 【名句点睛】 “今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱”——以虫声写春回，细腻如嗅，遂成写春夜的绝唱。
Background
Liu Fangping was a poet of the High-to-mid-Tang transition, skilled at writing boudoir feeling and fine seasonal scenes. This poem was likely written on a quiet spring night feeling the time, showing his keenness to natural signs.
《月夜》为唐代刘方平所作，是写春夜月色、虫声报春之情的诗。刘方平（生卒年不详），河南洛阳人，唐代诗人。此诗：更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。全诗写春夜月色、虫声报春之情，是刘方平诗的名篇。
Art
A seven-character quatrain, first scene then feeling; led by the two empty words happen to know and newly pierces, it turns the abstract spring into audible insect sound, observing nature with fine precision, light in structure.
《月夜》艺术上以春夜月色的描摹与虫声报春的细腻见长。全诗四句：首写更深月色——“更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜”写更深月色半人家、北斗阑干南斗斜；末写虫声报春——“今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱”写今夜偏知春气暖、虫声新透绿窗纱。全诗以春夜月色写虫声报春之情，正是刘方平诗细腻的笔法。
Allusions
Lan gan (railing) means the aslant, sprawling look of the stars. The Southern Dipper is the Dipper constellation. Spring air is warm means the turning warmer of the season; insect sound means the first singing of spring insects.
《月夜》用典在“北斗阑干南斗斜”“虫声新透绿窗纱”。“北斗阑干南斗斜”写北斗横斜南斗斜（夜深夜象）；“虫声新透绿窗纱”写虫声透窗（春回之象）。全诗以这些意象写春夜月色、虫声报春，用典自然而细腻自见，正是刘方平诗的笔法。
Commentary
The Tang Poetry Selection says writes the spring night as if smelled and heard; the fineness of observing things is a mid-Tang unique quatrain. The Shi Jing Qian Shuo calls it the four words happen-to-know and newly-pierce write out the first news of early spring.
《月夜》是刘方平诗的名篇，也是盛唐七绝中写春夜的代表作。此诗写春夜月色、虫声报春之情，向为论者称道。论者多赏其春夜月色的描摹与虫声报春的细腻——“更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜”写更深月色半人家、北斗阑干南斗斜，细腻之极；“今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱”写今夜偏知春气暖、虫声新透绿窗纱，更见其新。刘方平为盛唐诗人，其七绝以细腻著称，此诗正是其代表——以春夜月色写虫声报春之情，正是其诗风。
Prosody
Line by line
更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。
Deep in the night, moonlight halves the houses; the Northern Dipper lies aslant, the Southern Dipper slants.
更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。
Deep in the night, moonlight floods half the houses; the Plough lies across, the Southern Dipper slants.
首写更深月色半人家、北斗阑干南斗斜，是全诗写春夜之景的起点。“更深月色半人家”写更深月色半人家——“更深月色半人家”写夜深月色照亮半边人家——更深月色半人家；“北斗阑干南斗斜”写北斗阑干南斗斜——“北斗阑干南斗斜”写北斗横斜、南斗偏斜——北斗阑干南斗斜。二句写更深月色半人家、北斗阑干南斗斜：更深月色半人家，北斗阑干南斗斜。以“更深月色半人家”写夜深月斜、半照人家，以“北斗阑干南斗斜”写北斗横斜、南斗西斜之夜象，正是刘方平诗写春夜之景的起点——更深月斜，星斗阑干。
The opening writes deep in the night, moonlight floods half the houses; the Plough lies across, the Southern Dipper slants, the starting point for the spring-night scene. Deep in the night, moonlight floods half the houses writes the late hour's moon lighting half the dwellings; the Plough lies across, the Southern Dipper slants writes the crossing, slanting constellations. The two lines write the late moon over half the houses and the crossing stars - Liu Fangping's starting point for the spring night: the deep night's slanted moon, the stars lying across.
今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。
Tonight I happen to know the spring air is warm; the insect sound newly pierces the green window gauze.
今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。
Tonight I somehow know the spring air is warming; insect sounds newly pierce the green window gauze.
末写今夜偏知春气暖、虫声新透绿窗纱，是全诗写虫声报春的归结。“今夜偏知春气暖”写今夜偏知春气暖——“今夜偏知春气暖”写今夜偏偏知道春气回暖——今夜偏知春气暖；“虫声新透绿窗纱”写虫声新透绿窗纱——“虫声新透绿窗纱”写虫声初次透进绿窗纱——虫声新透绿窗纱。二句写今夜偏知春气暖、虫声新透绿窗纱：今夜偏知春气暖，虫声新透绿窗纱。以“今夜偏知春气暖”写今夜偏觉春气回暖、物候先知，以“虫声新透绿窗纱”写虫声初透窗纱、春意已到，正是刘方平诗写虫声报春的归结——偏知春暖，虫透窗纱。
The closing writes tonight I somehow know the spring air is warming; insect sounds newly pierce the green window gauze, the resolution of the insect sounds announcing spring. Tonight I somehow know the spring air is warming writes the unexpected sense of the rising warmth; insect sounds newly pierce the green window gauze writes the first insects' sound through the gauze. The two lines write the sudden knowledge of spring's warmth and the insect sound piercing the window - Liu Fangping's resolution: tonight, through the insects' new song, spring is felt arriving.
Study
Word focus
Related Reading
Compare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
杜甫《月夜》写月夜忆妻、儿女之情，与本首同为唐诗写月夜。差异在主题：刘方平月夜写春夜虫声；杜甫月夜写月夜忆远。一写“春”之新，一写“情”之深。两者并读，可见唐诗写月夜的两种主题。
春宵 Spring Night 苏轼 · 同为写春夜之作，一写虫声报春一写春宵一刻，皆清新 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
苏轼《春宵》“春宵一刻值千金，花有清香月有阴”写春宵之美，与本首同为写春夜之作。差异在体裁：刘方平月夜为七绝；苏轼春宵为七绝。一写“虫”之新，一写“宵”之贵。两者并读，可见写春夜之作的两种侧重。
水调歌头·明月几时有 Prelude to Water Melody: How Long Will the Full Moon Appear? 苏轼 · 与本首相关联的同类或同作者作品，供对比阅读 Related readingCompare this related work with the poem above through theme, imagery, tone, and emotional movement.
此处关联苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》，与本首在主题、体裁或作者上相关联，可对比阅读以见其同异。