Long rains just cease—air fresh and wide,
Alone I trace the Yu Creek's side.
My staff probes the wild spring’s bed,
My belt girds young bamboos’ head.
What need for deep contemplation?
Solitude is my aspiration.
Blessed respite from worldly fuss—
My chant cools the sultry dusk.
悠悠雨初霁，独绕清溪曲。
引杖试荒泉，解带围新竹。
沉吟亦何事，寂寞固所欲。
幸此息营营，啸歌静炎燠。
Composed during Liu Zongyuan's Yongzhou exile (805-815 CE), this poem marks a philosophical turning point in his banishment oeuvre. Having christened the stream "Fool's" (愚溪) as both self-mockery and social critique, Liu here transforms a post-rain excursion into a manifesto of anti-ambition—where voluntary simplicity becomes the ultimate sophistication. The work's unusual serenity among his generally acerbic exile poems reveals hard-won reconciliation between political failure and spiritual freedom.
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.
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