Where the sun has entered the western hills,
I look for a monk in his little straw hut;
But only the fallen leaves are at home,
And I turn through chilling levels of cloud.
I hear a stone gong in the dusk,
I lean full-weight on my sl ender staff...
How within this world, within this grain of dust,
Can there be any room for the passions of men?
Original Poem:
「北青萝」
李商隐
残阳西入崦，茅屋访孤僧。
落叶人何在，寒云路几层。
独敲初夜磬，闲倚一枝藤。
世界微尘里，吾宁爱与憎！
Interpretation:
Through the narration of the visit to a monk, the poem expresses the poet’s desire to leave behind all the loves and hates of the world.
As the sun sets in the west, the layers of forests are dyed, the light and shadow are changing. Stepping into the afterglow of the setting sun, the poet goes to a thatched cottage to visit a solitary monk. The beginning of the poem renders an atmosphere of warmth, enchantment, antiquity and clarity. It is already late autumn, the leaves are falling everywhere, the silent mountain forest where there are people’s shadows, only the chirping of the tired birds returning to their nests, the chilly mist lingers, the moist mountain road extends layer after layer to the depths of the clouds. Walking in such a deep and ethereal mountain forest, the heart will also become clear and pure.
See the monks, to reach the thatched cottage where the monks live, it is already dusk, alone struck the chime in the twilight spread far and wide, the poet first heard the sound, and then saw him leisurely leaning on a cane. The image of the monk in the poem has not appeared positively, but through the environmental description and the side of the background, a far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, serenity and tranquility, calm and unhurried image of a lonely monk has jumped to the surface of the paper.
The quiet and elegant mountains, the extraordinary lonely monk, let the poet epiphany of the true meaning of life. Since the world is like dust, love and hate are all illusory, what else can not see? The poet seems to get a moment of relief from the bitter entanglement of reality. The last line of the poem is a reference to the meaning of Buddhist scripture, which points out his own enlightenment.
Li Shangyin’s poems are often distressed by the world’s fame and fortune, in fact, in addition to being an official and developed, there should be many good things, this poem is trying to show this point. The poet may not have really thrown in the towel, and even if it is a temporary self-congratulation, it reflects a kind of open-mindedness in life. Such content is not often found in Li Shangyin’s poems.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Li Shangyin (李商隐), 813-858 AD, was a great poet of the late Tang Dynasty. His poems were on a par with those of Du Mu, and he was known as “Little Li Du”. Li Shangyin was a native of Qinyang, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province. When he was a teenager, he lost his father at the age of nine, and was called “Zheshui East and West, half a century of wandering”.
