Under the Tender Moon

梁书嫣

摘 要：在中國和西方文学中，月亮以其皎洁美丽，千变万化的形象被赋予了丰富的诗性意象，成为一个独特的文化载体，具有丰富的思想内涵，能够引起艺术上和情感上的共鸣。中国文学中的月亮是深情而浪漫的，它体现了宁静、向往、神秘和孤独的情感，而西方文学中的月亮则被赋予了更多的现实感，有时甚至是消极的情绪。本文将分析中西方文学中月亮意象的异同并探讨其在跨文化交际中的意义。

关键词：跨文化交际;月亮的意象;中国文学;西方文学

Abstract：In both Chinese and Western literature，the moon，with its beautiful and ever-changing outlook，has been invested with plenty of poetic imagery and become a unique cultural carrier with rich ideological connotation as well as artistic and emotional empathy.The moon in Chinese literature is affectionate and romantic，embodying senses of tranquility，yearning，mystery and loneliness，while in Western literature it is endowed with more sense of reality and sometimes，negative feelings.This paper will analyze the imagery of moon in Chinese and Western literature，compare the similarities and differences，and discuss its significance in cross-culture communication.

Key Words：cross-culture communication，the imagery of the moon，Chinese literature，Western literature

“How long will the full moon appear？ / Wine cup in hand，I ask the sky.” The presence of moon in literature never fails to surprise people with its beauty and serenity.Beyond time and distance，the moon shines down to us mankind with the same changing light，whether dimly or brightly，waxing and waning.All mankind owns a bright moon together.In the process of constantly understanding，transforming and conquering nature，a brilliant moon culture is created.From the ancient legends about the moon to modern times when the landing of Apollo the 11th uncovered the mystery of the moon，moon literature records the track of human beings understanding of nature，carrying the spiritual experience of human beings in pursuit of harmony with nature，covering meditation，parting sorrow，joy and lingering.Although it is the same moon，Chinese and western literati are different in their feelings.In this paper，there will be a brief analysis and comparison of the imagery of moon in Chinese and Western literature，together with its significance in cross-culture communication.

一、The typical imagery of moon in Chinese literature

Chinese people have a “moon complex”，which is a traditional theme of many poets in their works.Therefore，to a large extent，this complex contains profound Chinese traditional primitive cultural connotation and unique aesthetic taste.There are four major kinds of moon imagery in Chinese literature：the feeling of hometown，loneliness and alienation，tenderness and serenity，eternity and the unit of human and moon as one.

（一）The imagery of hometown with homesickness and wishes for family reunion

In the minds of the Chinese people，the moon is synonymous with home，hometown and motherland.Whenever people wander，missing their loved ones，the moon will become their spiritual sustenance，inviting precious reminiscence，shortening the distance between time and space，and becoming the silent witness of the poets and writers homesickness.The full moon is a symbol of family reunion while the crescent and quarter moon are symbols of parting and distance.In the A Tranquil Night，Li bai was bewildered by the hoarfrost-like moonlight，sighing：“looking up，I find the moon bright;/ Bowing，in homesickness Im drowned.” Du Fu also wrote：“The evening dew becomes white with moonlight，/ But it is always the moon shining from my hometown that is the brightest.” Countless are the masterpieces of Chinese poets indulging themselves in the shimmery moonlight，longing for coming home，they have definitely shaped our literature.It is the moon that arouses peoples common intangible psychological experience.At this moment，the moon becomes the intermediary between the wanderers and their hometowns and families，the line of sight all converge on the moon.Even if they can not see each other，the psychological feeling shortened the realistic distance between them with a special sense of intimacy.

（二）The imagery of loneliness and alienation

Throughout history，there are many beautifully written poems or prose created by the so-called “frustrated literati”.They met a lot of failures in their political ambitions but made it in literature.In their works，the moon also represents loneliness，alienation，sadness，frustration and confusion.Although the moon itself has the charm of peace and tranquility，it is this quietness that creates a different kind of emotion，causing poets to express their melancholy and sadness around the moon.

（三）The imagery of tenderness and serenity with happiness and harmony

The dim and soft features of the moonlight naturally give the role of the moon a quiet and gentle coat，not like the unrestrained heat of the sun，the moon is distant and resolved，to some extent，this characteristic is in line with the Chinese people's pursuit of the realm of implicit，elegant and detached.One of the best expression is from Moonlight over the lotus pond written by Zhu Ziqing.“The moon sheds her liquid light silently over the leaves and flowers，which，in the floating transparency of a bluish haze from the pond，look as if they had just been bathed in milk，or like a dream wrapped in a gauzy hood.” It is such breathtaking beauty and peace that give Chinese people the feeling of happiness and content.

（四）The imagery of eternity in time and space

The image of moon also arouses people's awareness of the eternal space and time，which urges people to seek the law behind the eternal things，especially in a philosophical way.Zhang Ruoxu wrote in his poem A Moonlit Night on the Spring River：“Who by the riverside first saw the moon arise？ When did the moon first see a man by riverside？ Ah，generations have come and pasted away;From year to year the moons look alike，old and new.We do not know tonight for whom she sheds her ray，But hear the river say to its water adieu.” The moon was the object of the poets thoughts.While relating to life，a special philosophical thought began to appear what is the dialectical relationship between “individual life” and “human existence”.It is true that life is short，but the twists and turns that lie within it make everything eternal.So why worry about it？ The moon image reflects a kind of eternal whether in time or space，and in this sense，life is eternal.

二、The typical imagery of moon in Western literature

In the context of western culture，the symbol of the moon is closely related to the sun.It has two basic characteristics——the first is that the moon itself does not shine，but with the suns light reflection;secondly， the moon has a regular pattern of waxing and waning.The original image of the moon comes from its mythological origin.The moon goddess in western mythology is Diana，also known as the Hunting Goddess conveying power，dominance，female superiority，dignity，independence，glory，victory and divinity.Although the pleasant and loving images of moon do exist in Western literature，compared with Chinese imagery，it is less admirable and often fall into a more negative side.In literature，there are mainly three kinds of imagery：the feeling of fatigue and loneliness;fickle and inconsistent;distant and lunatic.

（一）The imagery of fatigue and loneliness

In Percy Bysshe Shellys poem “To the Moon”，the moon is a complex symbol，invoking paleness，weariness，useless toil and unrequited love—— “Art thou pale for weariness/ Of climbing heaven，and gazing on the earth，……And ever-changing，like a joyless eye/ That finds no object worth its constancy？” In this regard，the imagery appears similar to Chinese literature.Its the quietness of moonlit night that is able to cause the universal feeling of loneliness.

（二）The imagery of fickle and inconsistent

Similar with Chinese people，the ancient Romans also believed that people's spirit was affected by the waxing and waning of the moon.For example，in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet，Juliet asks Romeo not to swear by the moon because the moon is always changing its shape and position.Therefore，a promise sworn on the moon could also be prone to changing.Her request is part of the famous balcony scene，which is the second scene in Act II of the play Romeo and Juliet.Romeo attempts to profess his love to Juliet in this scene，but Juliet cuts him off mid-sentence by saying：“O，swear not by the moon，the inconstant moon;that monthly changes in her circled orb;lest that thy love prove likewise variable.” Based on these words，Juliet believes that a promise sworn on the moon is just as changeable as the moon itself.In this sense，there exists a divergence in Chinese and Western literature.

（三）The imagery of distant and lunatic

The relationship between the moon and human beings in western literature is very different from that in Chinese：the image is more independent an action subject separated from people which fully embodies the western thinking mode of binary opposition.For example，in Tristesses de la lune of French poet Charles Baudelaire，he wrote：“Tonight the moon，by languorous memories obsessed，/ Lies pensive and awake：a sleepless beauty amid / The tossed and multitudinous cushions of her bed，/ Caressing with an abstracted hand the curve of her breast./ Surrendered to her deep sadness as to a lover，for hours / She lolls in the bright luxurious disarray of the sky —/ Haggard，entranced — and watches the small clouds float by / Uncurling indolently in the blue air like flowers.” Unlike what we often see in Chinese poems which people and nature are integrated into one，the moon in this poem is an independent object from people.This also fully reflects the independent personality of westerners.

On the other hand，in Western literature，moonlight is thought to cause madness or “lunacy”;lunatics have “moon-struck madness”（Milton，PL 11.486）As we can see from these words “lunacy”，“lunatic”，they are all related with the word “lune” which is originated from the Latin word for moon “lunae”.Werewolves，a common image in western literature，are nocturnal，moon-influenced creatures of fear.There are also many horror fiction with the setting of moonlit night.This image is definitely very different from common Chinese images.

三、Enlightenment

Taking a comprehensive view of the moon imagery in Chinese and western literature，the rich ideological connotation as well as artistic and emotional empathy of moon is universal.Yet，due to the influence of various factors such as politics，economy，culture and society，there are some differences in the moon images in Chinese and western literature.The factors behind these differences are worthy of further study.However，no matter how divergent the images are，they all provide a broad space for the development of human culture and bring a aesthetic feast of literature to people all over the world.At the same time，it has a great guiding significance for cross-cultural communication.As the most vivid form of cultural exchange，literature can arouse peoples curiosity and empathy.In the face of the differences between Chinese and western literature on the image of the moon，we can fully experience the cultural diversity，enrich our literary and aesthetic experience，expand our horizon and imagination，and at the same time pay attention to the differences in communication to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding.In the face of the similarities，we can delightedly immense ourselves in the beauty and serenity and deeply understand the universal empathy beyond time and space.Just like what is conveyed in the famous lines of Prelude to water Melody：

“Men have sorrow and joy;they part or meet again;

The moon is bright or dim and she may wax and wane.

There has been nothing perfect since the olden days.

So let us wish that man

Will live long as he can！

Though miles apart，well share the beauty she displays.”

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