Contemplating the Moon: Su Shi’s Mid-Autumn Reverie
The year of Bing Chen in the Song Dynasty, corresponding to 1076 AD, marked an eventful Mid-Autumn Festival for Su Shi. Serving as the prefect of Mizhou (modern-day Zhucheng City, Shandong Province), he indulged in revelry until dawn, composing the renowned poem “Shui Dia Ge Tou” in the process. This poem, a reflection on gazing at the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival while yearning for his younger brother Su Zhe, captures Su Shi’s profound emotional depth amidst the natural beauty of the moonlit night.
Su Shi, known for his scholarly pursuits and practical governance, also harbored a deep spiritual side, occasionally turning to Buddhist teachings amidst his Confucian ideals. His career trajectory, influenced by political turbulence, led him from the bustling center of Kaifeng as a magistrate to the quieter outskirts of Mizhou, a move that, though seemingly voluntary, underscored the challenges and setbacks he faced.
The poem “Shui Dia Ge Tou,” steeped in imagery and metaphor, vividly portrays the luminous moon, evoking a sense of distant realms and the unattainable. Su Shi’s verse begins with an intriguing inquiry, “When did the bright moon first appear? I raise my cup and ask the clear sky.” This opening stanza, reminiscent of the works of Qu Yuan and Li Bai, sets a contemplative tone, blending awe for the natural world with existential questioning.
The subsequent lines delve deeper into Su Shi’s imaginative journey. “Unaware of the celestial palace above, what year is tonight?” he muses, pondering the celestial mechanics that govern the moon’s brilliance. Expressing a desire to “ride the wind back home,” he juxtaposes this longing with a fear of the chilling heights of the mythical jade palaces.
The verses, resonant with Daoist themes of transcendence and the allure of the divine, reflect Su Shi’s penchant for spiritual contemplation. His poetic flights, whether under moonlit skies or upon tranquil rivers, embody a yearning for the ethereal realms, contrasting sharply with his grounded appreciation for earthly joys.
In the poem’s poignant conclusion, Su Shi addresses the moon directly, questioning its seeming preference for illuminating separations rather than unions. “Why does the full moon appear only in times of parting?” he laments, a sentiment that resonates with human struggles against fate and longing for connection.
Yet, in a philosophical turn, Su Shi reconciles these sentiments, acknowledging the inevitability of human joys and sorrows, much like the lunar phases themselves. “Let people be eternal,” he wishes, “a thousand miles sharing the beauty of Chang’e.” This final invocation to the mythical moon goddess Chang’e underscores Su Shi’s belief in enduring human bonds, even across great distances.
In conclusion, Su Shi’s “Shui Dia Ge Tou” stands not only as a poetic masterpiece but also as a testament to the enduring power of the moon’s symbolism in Chinese culture. Through his verses, Su Shi invites readers to contemplate the interplay between the celestial and the terrestrial, the fleeting and the eternal, leaving a profound mark on Chinese literary heritage.