Did Li Bai, who compared moonlight to frost, make a common sense mistake?

Thoughts on a Quiet Night by Li Bai is probably the most popular ancient poem in China. Not only children, but also some old people who have little knowledge and culture and have not studied for a few days can almost recite this ancient poem.

However, although many people can recite this poem, some parts of this poem are not easy to understand. In particular, what does the "bed" of "so bright a gleam on the foot of my bed" mean? If it is a "bed" sleeping in the house, then how can Li Bai suspect (figuratively) that it is "frost" on the ground? Because everyone knows that there can't be frost in the house. Metaphor is a joke, for there is something and there is nothing.

Therefore, many people think that the "bed" in Li Bai's Silent Night Thinking does not refer to the sleeping bed in the house, but something else. What is it? There are several versions.

first, it refers to the "window". In other words, "bed" is a generic word here, and it is a generic word of "window". It is said to be a generic word of "window" because the poet is standing in the room, and he usually has to look through the window to see the moon and the bright moonlight on the ground. And seeing the moon through the window will have an artistic conception. The "ground" here refers to the ground outside the window.

the second refers to the "well field", that is, the platform by the well. This table is for people to sit on and enjoy the cool. Li Bai is not indoors, but outdoors. Outside, Li Bai suspected that it was frost on the ground, which was normal. Moreover, well and hometown are deeply linked. Seeing the well, it is just right to miss your hometown.

Third, it refers to "Hu Chuang", that is, outdoor Mazar or hammock. After all, Li Bai was born in Alakazam. It is normal for him to use the dialect sentences in his hometown in his poems.

However, if we carefully analyze these three statements, it seems that they are somewhat unreliable.

let's talk about interchangeable words first. The interchangeable word means that the ancients had that pronunciation, but didn't have that word, so they replaced it with homophones. But there was the word "window" in ancient times. Why should we use "bed" instead? If it is for the purpose of leveling, these two words are both flat-voiced. What is the need to use one word instead of another? Besides, even if it is a generic word, it is also a conventional process. Apart from this poem, where else can we use a "bed" to make generic words "windows"?

let's talk about "well field". There seems to be nothing wrong with saying well field. However, even if the word "bed" refers to "well field", there seems to be no poetry that misses one's hometown just because one sees a well. Moreover, Li Bai wrote the poem "Wandering", that is, he missed his hometown when he was wandering in other places. It is all right for him to miss his hometown in places like post station, inn, ancient road and lonely boat, and some people have written about it. But why did he run to the well to write a poem? Isn't that weird? Of course, when writing poetry, we should pay attention to "using allusions". If there is no source, we will never write casually. Therefore, it is far-fetched to interpret "bed" as "well field".

finally, say "Hu Chuang". Yes, Li Bai was indeed born in Alakazam, and his hometown does have Hu Chuang. However, Li Bai is not in Alakazam, but in Han. Where can there be a Hu bed in Han? Did Li Bai specially ask his master to make him a cot in order to write a poem? This is very strange.

Therefore, the above four statements are obviously unreliable.

so, what does "bed" mean here?

I think there is nothing else. The "bed" here is the bed, and it is the bed in the house.

Since it is a bed in the room, why does Li Bai compare the moonlight to frost on the ground? Is there frost on the ground?

yes. It is also possible that the ground in the sleeping room will frost when it is very simple and drafty on all sides.

Moreover, it is of great benefit for Li Bai to write that the house is drafty all around.

only when the room is ventilated on all sides will there be large tracts of moonlight on the ground in front of the bed.

Li Bai will suspect that the ground is frosty only if the house is ventilated on all sides, because there is no difference between inside and outside.

Only when the house is ventilated on all sides will it be particularly deserted. Only when you are cold and clear, plus you see the moon, will you miss your hometown. Because of how much brighter the moonlight is at home!, my hometown is warm.

As we know, the most important means for Li Bai to write poems is "exaggeration". He exaggerated a lot of things, such as "Flowing down three thousands of feet", "Peach Blossom Pond is deep in thousands of feet", "White hair is 3, feet" and "Yanshan snowflake is as big as a seat". Since Li Bai is good at exaggerating the degree of "cold", it is very normal to say that the room is frosted.

I think the fundamental reason why some people are suspicious is that they don't know Li Bai, Li Bai's poems and songs, and literature, so they make such jokes.