諺語 · a single proverb
月有陰晴圓缺
Simplified: 月有阴晴圆缺
What does 月有陰晴圓缺 (yuè yǒu yīn qíng yuán quē) mean?
月有陰晴圓缺 (yuè yǒu yīn qíng yuán quē) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "the moon has its shadow and light, its fullness and its waning." In use it means: Like human grief and joy, the moon waxes and wanes; imperfection is the natural order. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rabbit.
Literally: "the moon has its shadow and light, its fullness and its waning."
The reading
You have been quietly ashamed that you cannot hold onto a full feeling, that joy keeps thinning back toward dark. The moon has never once managed it either, and no one calls the moon a failure. What empties in you tonight is only rounding toward the next full face.
The story
From Su Shi's Song ci 水調歌頭, written on a Mid-Autumn night while missing his brother: people have their partings and reunions, their grief and joy, and the moon its shadow and light, its fullness and waning, and this has never been easy to reconcile. Su Shi answers his own sorrow by accepting imperfection as the natural order.
Stop being ashamed that you cannot hold a full feeling, that joy keeps thinning back toward dark. The moon has never managed it either and no one calls it a failure, so let what empties in you tonight be only rounding toward the next full face.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Su Shi 蘇軾, 水調歌頭
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Nature, Seasons & Health, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rabbit, Year of the Monkey, Year of the Horse, and Year of the Rooster.
Questions
Is 月有陰晴圓缺 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 月有陰晴圓缺 (yuè yǒu yīn qíng yuán quē) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Su Shi 蘇軾, 水調歌頭. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 月有陰晴圓缺?
In Mandarin it is yuè yǒu yīn qíng yuán quē. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 月有陰晴圓缺 aloud in Mandarin.