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Li P’u (1063–1127) was from Kanchou in Kiangsi province and was known as an honest, forthright official. Here, he describes the eighth full moon, the celebration of which is second only to the lunar New Year in the Chinese calendar. The autumn equinox also takes place around this lunar holiday. The hare that lives on the moon produces the elixir of immortality. When the moon is full the hare is upside down and looks as if it is falling off. The three-legged toad, which consumes the hare’s elixir, is visible earlier in the month but hard is to make out when the moon is full. It’s said that the sea and sky were once joined and that immortals went back and forth on a magic raft. The Silver River is the Milky Way, which is only navigable when the sky is clear.

Mid-Autumn

LI P’U

A bright spirit in the sky a jeweled mirror rising

silences the music of immortals in the clouds

a perfect wheel at the height of autumn

shines for a thousand miles on a never-ending path

the clever hare falls off its rim

the ugly toad stays out of sight

let’s go together on a magic raft

the next time the Silver River is clear