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起舞弄清影

qǐwǔnòngqīngyǐng
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 I rise to dance and play with my clear shadow
  2. 2 (fig.) a solitary, tipsy Mid-Autumn dance under the moon
  3. 3 (lit.) rise dance toy-with clear shadow

Examples

我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间。
Wǒ yù chéng fēng guī qù, yòu kǒng qiónglóu yùyǔ, gāo chù bù shèng hán. Qǐ wǔ nòng qīng yǐng, hé sì zài rénjiān.
'I would ride the wind and return — yet fear the jade towers' heights cannot bear the cold. I rise to dance and play with my clear shadow — how could this compare to the mortal world?'
月下独酌时，他起舞弄清影，自得其乐。
Yuè xià dúzhuó shí, tā qǐ wǔ nòng qīng yǐng, zì dé qí lè.
Drinking alone beneath the moon, he rose to dance with his clear shadow, enjoying his own company.

Tips

history
From 苏轼《水调歌头·明月几时有》(Su Shi, Northern Song, 1076), written at Mizhou on Mid-Autumn night while missing his brother Su Zhe: 我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间 (I would ride the wind and return, yet fear the jade towers at such heights cannot bear the cold. I rise to dance and play with my clear shadow — how could this compare with the human world?). The whole cí ends with 但愿人长久，千里共婵娟 — arguably the most beloved Mid-Autumn poem ever written.
usage
Always paired with 何似在人间 — the pair flips the conclusion from 'celestial ascent' to 'human world is enough.' 弄 here = 'to play / toy with' (not modern 'do / get').

Stroke Order

起 qǐ
舞 wǔ
弄 nòng
清 qīng
影 yǐng