When the Dunhuang night market lights up at dusk, it really has the flavor of 'fine grape wine in a cup that glows in the night.'
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history
Opening line of Wang Han's (王翰, Tang dynasty) 《凉州词》 ('Song of Liangzhou'): 葡萄美酒夜光杯，欲饮琵琶马上催。醉卧沙场君莫笑，古来征战几人回 — 'Fine grape wine in a jade cup that glows in the night; just as I lift it, the pipa on horseback urges us on. Laugh not if I lie drunk on the battlefield — how many who went to war ever came back?' A masterpiece of Tang frontier poetry.
usage
夜光杯 refers to translucent jade cups, traditionally carved from Qilian Mountain jade in Jiuquan (Gansu), said to glow in moonlight. The phrase reads: 葡萄美酒 ('fine grape wine') + 夜光杯 ('night-glowing jade cup').
