English Rendering
Long mountain light, all things play spring's splendor.
Don't let these light clouds make you think of return.
Although this clear brightness has no tint of rain,
Clouds passing into distance can also soak my clothes.
Mountain Walk, Asking Guest to Stay
- Poetry of Zhang Xu
《山行留客》
Original Text (中文原文)
山光物态弄春晖，莫为轻阴便拟归。
纵使晴明无雨色，入云深处亦沾衣。
Analysis & Context
The last line of this translation is an attempt to handle two conventions in the original. A cloud (云) is a symbol of a traveller. And on parting, Chinese soak (沾) their clothes and face. That is to say, they weep and the common idioms include soaking the lapels, front of clothes, handkerchief, eyes running, eyes and nose running, one or more tracks of tears. The Tang dynasty was a weepy time, if we go by all the soggy poems of parting.
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.
- Clear Stream, Afloat in a Boat
- Spring Outing, Coinciding with Rain
- Willows
- Spring Grasses
- Mountain Walk, Asking Guest to Stay
- Peach-blossom River
- The Summit Temple
- <Prelude to Water Melody> Sent to Ziyou on Mid-autumn Festival
- Invitation to Wine
- Question and Answer in the Mountains
- Cold sheet
- Coming Home ( Returning Home )
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