English Rendering
Distant heart floats in the clouds. I know it won't return.
Our cloud hearts, together as one, know no distance.
What if this same gale blows us both ungently?
It blows from this Southern Hill back to Mount Mang.
Chance Respite
- Poetry of Li Ye
《偶居》
Original Text (中文原文)
心远浮云知不还，心云并在有无间。
狂风何事相摇荡，吹向南山复北山。
Analysis & Context
She is in the monastery at Southern Hill. He is in the far clouds, never to return. He could be her late husband, couldn't he? The never-returning love. Mount Mang is by the old capital, Luoyang. Perhaps it meant something to them both.
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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- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
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- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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