A Poem to a Taoist Hermit Chuanjiao Mountain
- Poetry of Wei Yingwu
My office has grown cold today;
And I suddenly think of my mountain friend
Gathering firewood down in the valley
Or boiling white stones for potatoes in his hut....
I wish I might take him a cup of wine
To cheer him through the evening storm;
But in fallen leaves that have heaped the bare slopes,
How should I ever find his footprints!
Five-character-ancient-verse
Composed during the Dali era of Emperor Daizong's reign while Wei Yingwu served as governor of Chuzhou, this poem was written in his official residence on a cold, stormy morning. The inclement weather stirred memories of a Taoist friend living in seclusion in the Quanjiao Mountains. Centered on longing, the poem uses the bitter cold as a catalyst to imagine the recluse's solitary life while revealing Wei's genuine yearning for mountain solitude beyond worldly bustle.
今朝郡斋冷，忽念山中客。
涧底束荆薪，归来煮白石。
欲持一瓢酒，远慰风雨夕。
落叶满空山，何处寻行迹？
- Why Chinese poems is so special?
- The most distinctive features of Chinese poetry are: concision- many poems are only four lines, and few are much longer than eight; ambiguity- number, tense and parts of speech are often undetermined, creating particularly rich interpretative possibilities; and structure- most poems follow quite strict formal patterns which have beauty in themselves as well as highlighting meaningful contrasts.
- How to read a Chinese poem?
- Like an English poem, but more so. Everything is there for a reason, so try to find that reason. Think about all the possible connotations, and be aware of the different possibilities of number and tense. Look for contrasts: within lines, between the lines of each couplet and between successive couplets. Above all, don't worry about what the poet meant- find your meaning.
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