At the poem’s heart is a frank concession to change: “People have grief and joy, partings and reunions; the moon has phases of dimness and fullness—such things are hard to perfect.” By paralleling human fortunes with the moon’s cycles, Su Shi reframes instability as a natural rhythm rather than a personal failure.
This acceptance, steeped in yin–yang sensibility, clears a path from lament to blessing. Because fullness cannot be permanent, the poet offers what can endure: the capacity to look up together. The wish for longevity thereby becomes a wish for recurring moments of shared light. [...]
