Slang dictionary · Love and relationships · Chinese internet slang
What does baiyueguang (白月光) mean?
Also written: white moonlight, 白月光朱砂痣, bai yue guang
In short
白月光 (báiyuèguāng, "white moonlight") means the person someone can never forget and never had, usually a first love or an unconfessed crush who stays perfect in memory. It comes from Eileen Chang's 1944 novella Red Rose, White Rose (《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》): the white rose a man did not marry remains "moonlight before the bed", and the red rose he did not marry is "a cinnabar mole on the heart". That second image, 朱砂痣 (zhūshāzhì), is also used and the two are often paired.
Origin: Red Rose, White Rose
The novella's protagonist, Tong Zhenbao, has two women in his life: a passionate lover, his red rose, and the woman he marries, his white rose. Chang writes that every man has had two such women. Marry the red rose, and she becomes "a smear of mosquito blood on the wall" while the white one stays "moonlight before the bed" (床前明月光). Marry the white rose, and she becomes "a grain of rice stuck to your clothes" while the red one is "a cinnabar mole on the heart" (心口上一颗朱砂痣).
The point: what you have loses its shine, and what you never had stays perfect. 床前明月光 is the opening line of Li Bai's famous poem Quiet Night Thoughts; Chinese users shortened it to 白月光 for the unattainable, idealized one.
White moonlight vs cinnabar mole
| Term | In the novella | Meaning today |
|---|---|---|
| 白月光 "white moonlight" | the white rose you did not marry | pure, distant, unattainable; often a first love |
| 朱砂痣 "cinnabar mole" | the red rose you did not marry | passionate and unforgettable, someone who left a mark |
| 蚊子血 / 饭黏子 "mosquito blood / grain of rice" | the rose you did marry | the one who became ordinary once you had them |
How to use it
- 「她是我高中时的白月光，到现在都没敢表白。」 (She was my high-school white moonlight. I never dared to confess.)
- 「每个人心里都有一个白月光吧。」 (Everyone has a white moonlight in their heart.)
- 「同学会上见到了白月光，滤镜碎了。」 (Saw my old crush at the reunion. The filter shattered.)
- 「男主的白月光回国了，女主危。」 (The hero's first love is back in the country. Trouble for the heroine.)
The word is common in Chinese web novels and TV dramas for the love interest a character cannot let go of; English translations of those stories often render it literally as "white moonlight".
Tone
Telling someone "you are my white moonlight" is romantic. Telling your current partner that an ex is your white moonlight implies they can't compare, which hurts, so avoid it.
FAQ
What is the difference between 白月光 and 朱砂痣?
白月光 is the pure, distant one you never had, often a first love; 朱砂痣 is the passionate one who left a lasting mark. Both come from the same passage in Eileen Chang's Red Rose, White Rose.
Where does 白月光 come from?
From Eileen Chang's 1944 novella Red Rose, White Rose, where the unmarried white rose stays "moonlight before the bed", a line borrowed from Li Bai's poem Quiet Night Thoughts.
Does 白月光 always mean a first love?
No. It can be anyone you never ended up with who stays idealized in memory; a first love is simply the most common case.