English Rendering
Autumn hills gather the day's last gleam;
Birds chase after their flock, a fleeting dream.
Colors shimmer, now clear, now softly blend;
Evening mist floats without start or end.
Deer Enclosure
- Poetry of Wang Wei
《木兰柴》Original Text (中文原文)
秋山敛余照，飞鸟逐前侣。
彩翠时分明，夕岚无处所。
Meaning & Analysis
This poem is a celebrated work from Wang Wei's Wang River Collection, a series of twenty poems, composed during his mature creative period while living in retreat at Wangchuan.
Related Themes
Reader's Companion
The Essence of the Verse
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Reading Between the Lines
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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