Yèwǎn mànbù lín jiān, zhēn yǒu míng yuè sōng jiān zhào, qīng quán shí shàng liú de gǎnjué.
Walking the woods at night really felt like 'bright moon shining among pines, clear spring running over stones.'
Tips
history
From Wang Wei's (王维, Tang dynasty) 《山居秋暝》: 空山新雨后，天气晚来秋。明月松间照，清泉石上流 — 'Empty mountain after fresh rain, evening air turning autumn; the bright moon shines among the pines, a clear spring runs over the stones.' Wang Wei's signature painter's-eye landscape, quiet Zen distilled into ten characters.
usage
Almost always quoted with its twin 清泉石上流 ('a clear spring runs over the stones'). The two lines model perfect parallel regulated verse: moon/spring, pine/stone, between/above — and have been painted and calligraphed a million times over.
