樓臺望月辭 · Lament from the Moon-Watching Terrace

A waning crescent hangs over a crumbling parapet. Dew beads on green moss. The lamp oil is nearly spent, yet the figure on the highest terrace does not turn back inside.

This is the second song in the moonlit longing rotation — and it shifts the scene from the spring courtyard of 春宵待月 upward: high above the valley, on a pavilion terrace open on all sides to the wind, where nothing stands between a person and the sky. The konghou (箜篌) leads for the first time in this channel: its cascading harp-tones carry a singular airborne quality, notes that seem to dissolve into altitude before they land.

The night-watch drum sounds three beats from somewhere far below. City lights thin out one by one. The column shadow pivots slowly, marking hours without urgency. There is a letter half-intended — but the ink has congealed on the paper before a word was written.

The moon slides behind the dark peaks. The terrace is left with only cold.

[引子] (箜篌撥弦，如水滴石上，寥寥數聲，夜深萬籟俱寂)

[主歌一] 殘月掛危欄， 寒露滴青苔。 油燈燼未滅， 人在最高臺。 風來無信至， 雲去不回頭。

[副歌] 樓臺望月月不語，月色冷如霜。 舉目望盡千重嶺，峰峰銜素光。 此身久立欄杆外，衣袂任風涼。 不知君在何處宿，星河渡幾行。

[主歌二] 更鼓三聲遠， 山城燈漸稀。 影斜隨柱轉， 心靜似無期。 欲書問歸日， 紙上墨先凝。

[副歌] 樓臺望月月不語，月色冷如霜。 舉目望盡千重嶺，峰峰銜素光。 此身久立欄杆外，衣袂任風涼。 不知君在何處宿，星河渡幾行。

[橋段] (箜篌獨奏，如問語無答，音自高臺散入夜空) 月漸西沉入翠微， 倚欄人獨不肯歸。 萬里無聲只有風， 此念飄向無人知。

[尾聲] 殘月沉峰後， 臺上唯餘寒。 (箜篌尾音漸弱，靜寂)

Instrumentation: konghou lead · guqin counter-melody · erhu undertone · frame drum night-watch pulse Scale: pentatonic · Tempo: ~65 bpm · Duration: ~2.5–3 min Lyrics: classical literary Chinese (文言) · Tang-Song poetic imagery