<p>游洞庭湖五首 is a series of 5 poems, of which the one under discussion is #2, (其二)</p>
<p>To appreciate this particular one, a few words of Li Bai's life background is helpful.</p>
<p>After a life of working and hoping for great achievements in government service and academia he lived his remaining years wandering listlessly the countryside, with writing poetry as his one and only luxury left, (唯一的奢侈), and, like all great artist, died in relative poverty, though not in misery as he seemed to have an abundance of fine wine.</p>
<p>This background should tell us something about the last 3 lines, (the first line, 南湖秋水夜无烟, equally important, sets the scene; more of this later):-</p>
<p>耐可乘流直上天</p>
<p>且就洞庭赊月色,</p>
<p>将船买酒白云边。</p>
<p>The collective summary of these 3 lines is:-</p>
<p>Given the unnatural tranquility and mist free clarity of Nan Hu Lake on a Moonlit Autumn night, the fanciful idea of ​​&quot;ascending straight to Heaven&quot;,直上天, came to mind; (i.e. free oneself from this Earth)</p>
<p>But we all know that is impossible or unattainable. So, why not let's &quot;obtain some credit from the Moon light&quot;, 赊月色, (赊 have the meaning of purchasing on credit, rather than cash), and buy and enjoy some wine and let the boat, (having a mind / will of its own, 将船,)  drift lazily towards the very edge of the clouds, (白云边)</p>
<p>What Li Bai intimated was that &quot;going to Heaven&quot; is never possible, and just as unattainable as achieving Worldly success in one's life, though a fleeting moment of hopeful elation, (南湖秋水夜无烟), may make one's sense of reality falter a bit; hopeful elation because Nan Hu ought to be misty most of the time on an Autumn night and this mist free night is unusual?</p>
<p>So, it is much better and also attainable to just live in the present moment of unnatural tranquility presented by Nan Hu Lake, even able to buy some wine on credit from the Moon Light itself, and the boat which needed no human steering could drift towards the very edge of the clouds, 白云边, (a metaphor for ultimate escapism from the mundane World)</p>

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2024-11-25T03:12:07.167Z
2024-11-25T05:49:31.780Z
2024-11-25T05:49:31.780Z
Wayne Cheah
<p>Line 1: &quot;Autumn waters&quot; sounds poetic, but “autumn’s glow” adds emotional warmth and avoids overly literal phrasing. &quot;Clear and still, no mist in sight&quot; conveys the serene atmosphere succinctly.</p>
<p>Line 2: &quot;How tempting&quot; captures the pull of the moment. &quot;Soar straight into Heaven’s height&quot; balances the metaphorical sense of freedom with the imagery of elevation.</p>
<p>Line 3: &quot;Borrow Dongting’s moonlit grace&quot; keeps the poetic mood and aligns with the original’s idea of temporarily partaking in the moon’s light.</p>
<p>Line 4: &quot;Sip fine wine&quot; fits the hedonistic tone, and “near clouds of white” evokes the dreamy, otherworldly setting Li Bai envisions.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-25T04:01:10.953Z
2024-11-25T04:01:10.953Z
j25axX7F
<p>One version of interpretation:</p>
<p>南湖秋水夜无烟, - The autumn night South Lake is so calm and clear without mist,</p>
<p>&quot;耐(怎/如何)&quot;可乘流直上天? - how could one follow the current to heaven?</p>
<p>(既然不能上天), &quot;(姑)且&quot;就洞庭赊&quot;(借)&quot;月色, - For the time being, let's borrow some of the moonlight from the lake, (李白 personalizes the nightly lake, to whom he intends to borrow the moonlight/money it possesses)</p>
<p>&quot;将(驾)&quot;船买酒&quot;白云(天)&quot;边。- and sail the boat to the remote wine shop to purchase some wine to enjoy the night. (The wine shop was located at the far shore of the lake that looked like bordering with the white-clouds-filled sky)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-24T19:00:30.210Z
2024-11-24T19:00:30.210Z
r13
<p>Here's my attempt to translate 《游洞庭湖五首·其二》, by 李白:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>《游洞庭湖五首·其二》</strong></p>
<p>南湖秋水夜无烟,</p>
<p>耐可乘流直上天。</p>
<p>且就洞庭赊月色,</p>
<p>将船买酒白云边。</p>
</blockquote>
<hr />
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Five poems on Dongting lake - Part 2</strong></p>
<p>In this autumn night the Nanhu lake is completely free from mist:</p>
<p>one could ride the flow straight to the Heaven.</p>
<p>If it would just be possible to borrow the moonlight of Dongting lake,</p>
<p>one could use the boat to buy some wine by a white cloud.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the 1st line Nanhu is another name of Dongting, meaning &quot;Souther Lake&quot;, as it is located at the south Yangtze river).</p>
<p>I'm not very confident about the last two lines, that are probably the most important.
I think the meaning is: it's not physically possible to reach the Heaven, but we could manage to grab some moonlight and sail on it; during this journey of pure pleasure/elation/ecstasy/rapture/..., we could have a drink (I'm not sure about how to interpret &quot;买&quot;) about the clouds.</p>
<p>Thanks for any suggestion, comments and improvements!</p>

<translation><poetry>
Translation and understanding of 李白's 《游洞庭湖五首·其二》
# Translation and understanding of 李白's 《游洞庭湖五首·其二》

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-11-24)

Here's my attempt to translate 《游洞庭湖五首·其二》, by 李白:

> **《游洞庭湖五首·其二》**
>
> 南湖秋水夜无烟,
>
> 耐可乘流直上天。
>
> 且就洞庭赊月色,
>
> 将船买酒白云边。

---

> **Five poems on Dongting lake - Part 2**
>
> In this autumn night the Nanhu lake is completely free from mist:
>
> one could ride the flow straight to the Heaven.
>
> If it would just be possible to borrow the moonlight of Dongting lake,
>
> one could use the boat to buy some wine by a white cloud.

In the 1st line Nanhu is another name of Dongting, meaning "Souther Lake", as it is located at the south Yangtze river).

I'm not very confident about the last two lines, that are probably the most important.
I think the meaning is: it's not physically possible to reach the Heaven, but we could manage to grab some moonlight and sail on it; during this journey of pure pleasure/elation/ecstasy/rapture/..., we could have a drink (I'm not sure about how to interpret "买") about the clouds.

Thanks for any suggestion, comments and improvements!

**Tags:** translation, poetry


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-11-25. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

游洞庭湖五首 is a series of 5 poems, of which the one under discussion is #2, (其二)

To appreciate this particular one, a few words of Li Bai's life background is helpful.

After a life of working and hoping for great achievements in government service and academia he lived his remaining years wandering listlessly the countryside, with writing poetry as his one and only luxury left, (唯一的奢侈), and, like all great artist, died in relative poverty, though not in misery as he seemed to have an abundance of fine wine.

This background should tell us something about the last 3 lines, (the first line, 南湖秋水夜无烟, equally important, sets the scene; more of this later):-

耐可乘流直上天

且就洞庭赊月色,

将船买酒白云边。

The collective summary of these 3 lines is:-

Given the unnatural tranquility and mist free clarity of Nan Hu Lake on a Moonlit Autumn night, the fanciful idea of ​​"ascending straight to Heaven",直上天, came to mind; (i.e. free oneself from this Earth)

But we all know that is impossible or unattainable. So, why not let's "obtain some credit from the Moon light", 赊月色, (赊 have the meaning of purchasing on credit, rather than cash), and buy and enjoy some wine and let the boat, (having a mind / will of its own, 将船,) drift lazily towards the very edge of the clouds, (白云边)

What Li Bai intimated was that "going to Heaven" is never possible, and just as unattainable as achieving Worldly success in one's life, though a fleeting moment of hopeful elation, (南湖秋水夜无烟), may make one's sense of reality falter a bit; hopeful elation because Nan Hu ought to be misty most of the time on an Autumn night and this mist free night is unusual?

So, it is much better and also attainable to just live in the present moment of unnatural tranquility presented by Nan Hu Lake, even able to buy some wine on credit from the Moon Light itself, and the boat which needed no human steering could drift towards the very edge of the clouds, 白云边, (a metaphor for ultimate escapism from the mundane World)


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### Answer by username_2 on 2024-11-25. Score: 1

Line 1: "Autumn waters" sounds poetic, but “autumn’s glow” adds emotional warmth and avoids overly literal phrasing. "Clear and still, no mist in sight" conveys the serene atmosphere succinctly.

Line 2: "How tempting" captures the pull of the moment. "Soar straight into Heaven’s height" balances the metaphorical sense of freedom with the imagery of elevation.

Line 3: "Borrow Dongting’s moonlit grace" keeps the poetic mood and aligns with the original’s idea of temporarily partaking in the moon’s light.

Line 4: "Sip fine wine" fits the hedonistic tone, and “near clouds of white” evokes the dreamy, otherworldly setting Li Bai envisions.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-11-24. Score: 1

One version of interpretation:

南湖秋水夜无烟, - The autumn night South Lake is so calm and clear without mist,

"耐(怎/如何)"可乘流直上天? - how could one follow the current to heaven?

(既然不能上天), "(姑)且"就洞庭赊"(借)"月色, - For the time being, let's borrow some of the moonlight from the lake, (李白 personalizes the nightly lake, to whom he intends to borrow the moonlight/money it possesses)

"将(驾)"船买酒"白云(天)"边。- and sail the boat to the remote wine shop to purchase some wine to enjoy the night. (The wine shop was located at the far shore of the lake that looked like bordering with the white-clouds-filled sky)


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