When I questioned your pupil, under a pine-tree, " My teacher," he answered, " went for herbs, But toward which corner of the mountain, How can I tell, through all these clouds? "
Original Poem:
「雪晴晚望」
贾岛
倚杖望晴雪，溪云几万重。
樵人归白屋，寒日下危峰。
野火烧冈草，断烟生石松。
却回山寺路，闻打暮天钟。
Interpretation:
This is a landscape poem which describes the cold and silent scene of empty mountains through the clear snow and twilight.
The first two lines: leaning alone on his bamboo staff, he looks out at the snow clearing up the sky, only to see the white clouds stacked on the stream.
At dusk, the snow cleared up and the sky cleared up, the poet was on a pleasure trip, leaning on his walking stick and looking into the distance. The distant mountains and near water, seem more beautiful and clean. The extreme eye distant sky, in the setting sun slanting light, the stream over the rise of fish-scale clouds, illusory and colorful, almost to “ten thousand heavy”.
The third and fourth sentences: the woodcutter is walking back to the snow-covered cottage, flashing cold light of the setting sun down the dangerous peaks.
In the snow-covered mountains, there are woodcutters along the hidden line of sheep's intestine path, slowly down the mountain, back to the snow-covered cottage. Behind the white hut is the cold, glittering, mountainous sunset. The mountain peaks look even more majestic in the evening light. The woodcutter's first return to the white hut and the cold sun's desire to descend the dangerous peaks, in the imitation of motion and static light and color, reveals the kind of coldness of the author's Jia Island style of poetry.
The fifth and sixth lines: the wildfire burns the creeping grass on the mountain, and the smoke beacons intermittently dazzle the ancient pines in the rocks.
The poet's sight moves to another angle. On a distant hillock, wild grass is burning. The pine is lush and pale, the smoke of sunset seems to be intermittently born between the stone and pine, and the proud ancient pine and break through the smoke towers to the clouds and sky.
The last two lines: I walked towards the road back to the mountain temple, far away, heard the melodious twilight bell.
Poet full of near and far high and low after the snow beauty, the night is gradually falling, can no longer hover extended stand. In this poetic environment full of mountainous interest, galloping eyes to entertain the mind on the way home, the poet clearly heard the mountain temple ringing clear bells, adding a more intense poetic meaning. This close, spit out the poet's soul deep hidden feelings. The author Jia Island used to be a monk, and then although he returned to secularism, but the imperial examinations have been unsuccessful, and finally inhabited the deserted mountains and ancient temples, after the evening tour, like a tired bird returning to its nest, heard the evening bells of the mountain temples, and couldn't help but feel the surge of the heart.
The poem depicts a picture of a cold and silent mountain in the evening, with light brush strokes, cold and craggy imagery, empty and lonely, showing a pure poetic style.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
Jia Dao (贾岛), 779 - 843 AD, was a native of Daxing, Beijing. He was a monk in his early years, and later traveled to the eastern capital, where he was recognized by Han Yu and returned to secularism. Jia Dao's poems were mostly about the scenes of loneliness and sadness, and he was famous for his bitter poems at that time.
