<blockquote>
<p>he once drew a painting &quot;half sun, half rock&quot; in the art class</p>
</blockquote>
<p>omg, such translation </p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/61bJ1.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/61bJ1.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>the original text in traditional chinese is</p>
<blockquote>
<p>記得有一次我畫了一條直線，上面加上一個半圓</p>
</blockquote>
<p>roughly,</p>
<p>[i] remembered, once i drawn a straight line; above, added a semicircle</p>
<blockquote>
<p>this is an allusion to a poem by 李太白</p>
</blockquote>
<p>the verse is “<strong>半壁見海日</strong>”, quoted from a poem <a href="https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%A4%A2%E9%81%8A%E5%A4%A9%E5%A7%A5%E5%90%9F%E7%95%99%E5%88%A5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">夢遊天姥吟留別</a>, by 李白</p>
<p>btw</p>
<blockquote>
<p>about his teacher's education in a school</p>
</blockquote>
<p>the original text in chinese, indicated mr mao is a student in that school, <strong>not</strong> as a teacher</p>
<p>edited</p>
<p>well, 天姥[山] is a 818m mountain in eastern china. the poem’s title stated clearly “hike in a dream” (夢遊); so, “半壁見海日”, i would read it as:</p>
<p>half way (半壁) [to the summit of mount 天姥], [i] saw (見) the sun (日) [rising over] the sea (海)</p>
<p>since the mount 天姥 is located some distance from the sea, one might argue that it’s an exaggeration, or experience </p>
<p><a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16679&amp;q=1&amp;word=%E5%8D%8A%E5%A3%81" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16679&amp;q=1&amp;word=半壁</a></p>
<p>have fun :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-25T17:34:57.680Z
Thank you for this information! It's very valuable to me!
Christoph Mark
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T03:12:21.507Z
I am curious. How would one translate 半壁見海日 into everyday English or German?
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T03:46:53.027Z
@WayneCheah, i edited the answer, have a look again ; it’s too long as a comment  the trick is. “半壁” has a meaning “half”, treat it as  rock, or, wall would be trapped 
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T10:08:15.357Z
Quote:- "treat it as rock, or, wall would be trapped" That's what I thought. I needed a second opinion. Thanks. I suppose "half sun, half rock" is "half" correct, poetically speaking? When the sun is rising over the horizon, it is "half a sun", (Mao's semicircle?), and the horizon, (Mao's straight line?) Mao's rather abstract drawing reminds me of the word  "旦", (meaning Dawn) So, was Mao being original or a linguistic subliminal perception?
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T12:13:22.900Z
@WayneCheah, “half sun” is fully correct, “half rock” is totally incorrect, even poetically **no rock should be mentioned lah**  maybe “half sun over horizon” is better. “旦” yes :) [in which the sun’s lower edge is above the horizon, one can see the whole sun]
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T15:15:07.827Z
@水巷孑蠻 半壁 means half cliff or rather on a cliff half way to the summit of mount 天佬. I think Mao got it wrong lol.
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T15:51:02.990Z
@Archeosudoerus, read the link provided in the answer, please  if wall, rock, or cliff is induced, how do one comprehend “半壁江山”? http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16681&q=1&word=半壁江山
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T21:29:09.900Z
@水巷孑蠻 I believe "半壁江山" is a relatively new phrase(maybe  1000+ years later then Li Bai). The original meaning of 半壁 is just “half the way in the mountain cliff", to pair with 空中 in the next 空中闻天鸡。It indicates the "WHERE" part when he saw the sun and heard the Chicken. We should not enforce later meaning/development of a phrase to people before that time. Even in 半壁江山, the one that is "half" is the river/mountain/territory. I'm just saying that there is no indication in the original poem that the Sun is half. So that's why I said "Mao" got it wrong. He should not had drawn a "half sun",
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T21:42:02.587Z
@水巷孑蠻 The only possible explanation for a half sun is that 半壁見海日，空中聞天雞 is indicating that the morning is coming since that's when the 天雞 should be crowing. And 海日 usually means rising sun on the sea so it can be half. But either way, those are indications which are not directly tied to the 半壁. The cue about the possible half Sun is rather in 海日 and 天雞.  So in this case, Mao is correct to draw a half Sun.  But "half cliff/rock" is correct, it is the location where Li Bai(in his dream) saw the rising sun( it maybe half given the indication of a rising sun on the sea in the morning).
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T21:48:35.907Z
@水巷孑蠻 Sorry I have to separate it in to 3 comments, but what I want to express is that your Answer is perfectly correct and I have given it an up-vote. The only place where I could not agree with you is when you said : ' “half rock” is totally incorrect, even poetically no rock should be mentioned ' to WayneCheah. The 半 is there for the 壁, not the Sun, even by indications of 海日 and 天雞, the Sun could be half, but that's not because of the 半 in the poem. It is rather a beautiful indication embedded in the scenes and that's why this poem is so beautiful and I love it.
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-26T22:33:53.397Z
@Archeosudoerus, ' "半壁江山" is a relatively new phrase(maybe 1000+ years later then Li Bai)'  well, mr 李 was a 8th century poet. some decades later, in 送郭秀才逰天台 by 許渾; there's verse "雲埋陰壑雪凝峰・**半壁**天台已萬重". in 13th century, in 黃氏日抄 by 黃震, there's verse "東南**半壁**・能幾州郡・憔悴之餘・能幾生靈"
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-27T19:55:18.343Z
@水巷孑蠻 Exactly! You don't see any record of "半壁江山" until Qing Dynasty.
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-25T16:34:37.427Z
2023-06-26T03:43:02.667Z
2023-06-26T03:43:02.667Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>I'm reading the book &quot;Red Star over China&quot; by Edgar Snow. In the autobiography 毛泽东 reported to Snow, in the passage about his teacher's education in a school in 长沙, it is said that he once drew a painting &quot;half sun, half rock&quot; in the art class, which was indicated by a horizontal line with a half circle above it.</p>
<p>In a footnote, it says this is an allusion to a poem by 李太白. I would like, firstly, to know which poem 毛泽东 alluded to, secondly, how he would have expressed this allusion in the original Chinese conversation, i.e. how to translate this expression &quot;half sun, half rock&quot; most authentic back into Chinese.</p>
<p>I'm reading the German translation of the original book by Snow. There it says &quot;halb Sonne, halb Felsen&quot;.</p>

<classical-chinese><history><poetry><literature>
What poem of 李太白 was 毛泽东's painting with the title "half sun, half rock" alluding to?
# What poem of 李太白 was 毛泽东's painting with the title "half sun, half rock" alluding to?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-06-25)

I'm reading the book "Red Star over China" by Edgar Snow. In the autobiography 毛泽东 reported to Snow, in the passage about his teacher's education in a school in 长沙, it is said that he once drew a painting "half sun, half rock" in the art class, which was indicated by a horizontal line with a half circle above it.

In a footnote, it says this is an allusion to a poem by 李太白. I would like, firstly, to know which poem 毛泽东 alluded to, secondly, how he would have expressed this allusion in the original Chinese conversation, i.e. how to translate this expression "half sun, half rock" most authentic back into Chinese.

I'm reading the German translation of the original book by Snow. There it says "halb Sonne, halb Felsen".

**Tags:** classical-chinese, history, poetry, literature


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-06-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> he once drew a painting "half sun, half rock" in the art class

omg, such translation

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/61bJ1.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/61bJ1.jpg)

the original text in traditional chinese is

> 記得有一次我畫了一條直線，上面加上一個半圓

roughly,

[i] remembered, once i drawn a straight line; above, added a semicircle

> this is an allusion to a poem by 李太白

the verse is “**半壁見海日**”, quoted from a poem [夢遊天姥吟留別](https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hant/%E5%A4%A2%E9%81%8A%E5%A4%A9%E5%A7%A5%E5%90%9F%E7%95%99%E5%88%A5), by 李白

btw

> about his teacher's education in a school

the original text in chinese, indicated mr mao is a student in that school, **not** as a teacher

edited

well, 天姥[山] is a 818m mountain in eastern china. the poem’s title stated clearly “hike in a dream” (夢遊); so, “半壁見海日”, i would read it as:

half way (半壁) [to the summit of mount 天姥], [i] saw (見) the sun (日) [rising over] the sea (海)

since the mount 天姥 is located some distance from the sea, one might argue that it’s an exaggeration, or experience

[http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16679&q=1&word=半壁](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16679&q=1&word=%E5%8D%8A%E5%A3%81)

have fun :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for this information! It's very valuable to me!  
> **username_2**: I am curious. How would one translate 半壁見海日 into everyday English or German?  
> **username_1**: @WayneCheah, i edited the answer, have a look again ; it’s too long as a comment  the trick is. “半壁” has a meaning “half”, treat it as  rock, or, wall would be trapped   
> **username_2**: Quote:- "treat it as rock, or, wall would be trapped" That's what I thought. I needed a second opinion. Thanks. I suppose "half sun, half rock" is "half" correct, poetically speaking? When the sun is rising over the horizon, it is "half a sun", (Mao's semicircle?), and the horizon, (Mao's straight line?) Mao's rather abstract drawing reminds me of the word  "旦", (meaning Dawn) So, was Mao being original or a linguistic subliminal perception?  
> **username_1**: @WayneCheah, “half sun” is fully correct, “half rock” is totally incorrect, even poetically **no rock should be mentioned lah**  maybe “half sun over horizon” is better. “旦” yes :) [in which the sun’s lower edge is above the horizon, one can see the whole sun]  
> **username_3**: @username_1 半壁 means half cliff or rather on a cliff half way to the summit of mount 天佬. I think Mao got it wrong lol.  
> **username_1**: @username_3, read the link provided in the answer, please  if wall, rock, or cliff is induced, how do one comprehend “半壁江山”? http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/dictView.jsp?ID=16681&q=1&word=半壁江山  
> **username_3**: @username_1 I believe "半壁江山" is a relatively new phrase(maybe  1000+ years later then Li Bai). The original meaning of 半壁 is just “half the way in the mountain cliff", to pair with 空中 in the next 空中闻天鸡。It indicates the "WHERE" part when he saw the sun and heard the Chicken. We should not enforce later meaning/development of a phrase to people before that time. Even in 半壁江山, the one that is "half" is the river/mountain/territory. I'm just saying that there is no indication in the original poem that the Sun is half. So that's why I said "Mao" got it wrong. He should not had drawn a "half sun",  
> **username_3**: @username_1 The only possible explanation for a half sun is that 半壁見海日，空中聞天雞 is indicating that the morning is coming since that's when the 天雞 should be crowing. And 海日 usually means rising sun on the sea so it can be half. But either way, those are indications which are not directly tied to the 半壁. The cue about the possible half Sun is rather in 海日 and 天雞.  So in this case, Mao is correct to draw a half Sun.  But "half cliff/rock" is correct, it is the location where Li Bai(in his dream) saw the rising sun( it maybe half given the indication of a rising sun on the sea in the morning).  
> **username_3**: @username_1 Sorry I have to separate it in to 3 comments, but what I want to express is that your Answer is perfectly correct and I have given it an up-vote. The only place where I could not agree with you is when you said : ' “half rock” is totally incorrect, even poetically no rock should be mentioned ' to WayneCheah. The 半 is there for the 壁, not the Sun, even by indications of 海日 and 天雞, the Sun could be half, but that's not because of the 半 in the poem. It is rather a beautiful indication embedded in the scenes and that's why this poem is so beautiful and I love it.  
> **username_1**: @username_3, ' "半壁江山" is a relatively new phrase(maybe 1000+ years later then Li Bai)'  well, mr 李 was a 8th century poet. some decades later, in 送郭秀才逰天台 by 許渾; there's verse "雲埋陰壑雪凝峰・**半壁**天台已萬重". in 13th century, in 黃氏日抄 by 黃震, there's verse "東南**半壁**・能幾州郡・憔悴之餘・能幾生靈"  
> **username_3**: @username_1 Exactly! You don't see any record of "半壁江山" until Qing Dynasty.  

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