明月出天山

míngyuè chū Tiān Shān
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the bright moon rises out of the Heaven Mountains
  2. 2 (fig.) the vast, solemn frontier landscape of Tang borderland poetry
  3. 3 (lit.) bright-moon emerge Heaven-Mountain

Examples

HSK 7-9
Zhàn zài Xīnjiāng cǎoyuán, kànjiàn míngyuè chū Tiān Shān de jǐngxiàng, cái dǒng Lǐbái shīyì.
Standing on the Xinjiang steppe, seeing 'the bright moon rise out of the Tianshan' - only then do you grasp Li Bai.
HSK 7-9
Jìlùpiàn kāitóu jiù yǐnyòng míngyuè chū Tiān Shān, zhǎnxiàn xībù zhuàngkuò.
The documentary opens with 'the bright moon rises from the Tianshan,' showcasing the West's grandeur.

Tips

history
Opening of 李白《关山月》 (Li Bai, Tang, 8th c.): 明月出天山,苍茫云海间。长风几万里,吹度玉门关。汉下白登道,胡窥青海湾。由来征战地,不见有人还 (The bright moon rises out of Tianshan, amid the vast sea of clouds. The long wind for ten thousand li sweeps past Yumen Pass. The Han armies marched the road to Baideng; the nomads spied the Qinghai Bay. From of old, on the fields of war, no one is seen returning). 关山月 is an ancient yuefu title for soldier-and-wife separation poems; Li Bai expanded it into a full frontier landscape.
usage
天山 here is the real Tianshan (Heavenly Mountains) range of Xinjiang, not a poetic abstraction. The line is often cited at the start of documentaries, travel essays, or speeches about the Chinese West.

Stroke Order

míng
yuè
chū
tiān
shān