#Homesickness

Moonlight, Motion, and Memory in Li Bai

From this quiet room, the poem expands into culture: in Chinese tradition, the full moon often signifies reunion, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Families separated by distance look at the same disk and imagine togetherness through shared light. Hence the moon becomes not just scenery, but a ritual bridge. This symbolism resonates across texts. Su Shi’s “Shui diao ge tou” (1076) wonders under the same bright moon when loved ones might reunite, concluding that although people part and meet, the moon’s cycles endure. Li Bai’s couplet, smaller in scale, taps the same current of collective memory. [...]

Alone in a Foreign Land - Wang Wei

He conveys the emotional intensity of longing and homesickness through the imagery of the festive season, suggesting that the joy others feel during these times starkly contrasts with his own sorrow and yearning. [...]