How swift my light boat goes!
It has already reached the realm of cloudy forests.
Sitting or rising among the fish and birds,
The moving oar stirs the mountain’s reflection in the water.
In the cliffs, echoes naturally join;
In the stream, all sounds deepen the quiet.
Being free of affairs makes one feel serene;
I stop the oars to face the lingering scenery.
Original Poem
「入清溪行山中」
李白
轻舟去何疾！已到云林境。
起坐鱼鸟间，动摇山水影。
岩中响自合，溪里言弥静。
无事令人幽，停桡向馀景。
Interpretation
Composed during Li Bai's travels along the Ruoye Stream, this poem epitomizes his aesthetic pursuit of "clarity," "seclusion," and "tranquility" in landscape poetry. More than a geographical location, Ruoye Stream represents a Daoist blessed paradise—legendary site for Xi Shi's silk-washing and Ou Yezi's sword-forging, bearing cultural memories of reclusion and celestial fantasy. Li Bai's journey aimed to seek transcendence over worldly troubles and spiritual solace within this serene landscape.
First Couplet: "轻舟去何疾！已到云林境。"
Qīng zhōu qù hé jí! Yǐ dào yún lín jìng.
How swiftly my light boat departs! Already reaching cloud-forest realm.
The opening exclamation "how swiftly" conveys not just the boat's speed but the poet's urgency to escape mundane life for nature. "Cloud-forest realm" perfectly defines this space: both physical landscape and transcendent sanctuary beyond the secular world. This couplet completes the spatial transition and establishes the poem's ethereal tone.
Second Couplet: "起坐鱼鸟间，动摇山水影。"
Qǐ zuò yú niǎo jiān, dòng yáo shān shuǐ yǐng.
Rising, sitting among fish and birds; Rippling the mountain-water reflections.
This couplet achieves ultimate fusion of self and nature. "Among fish and birds" transforms the poet from observer to participant in the natural community. "Rippling reflections" is inspired: it highlights the water's clarity where reflections appear tangible, while the "rippling" signifies the poet's integration into nature—breaking absolute stillness to create dynamic harmony. He is both figure in the painting and painter himself.
Third Couplet: "岩中响自合，溪里言弥静。"
Yán zhōng xiǎng zì hé, xī lǐ yán mí jìng.
Cliffs echo with natural harmony; My streamside words deepen the quiet.
A paradigm of "using sound to convey silence" in classical poetry. "Natural harmony" depicts nature's intrinsic vitality and rhythm, its sounds harmonious rather than noisy. "Words deepen the quiet" creates a subtle paradox: human speech here measures silence's depth rather than disrupting it. When faint speech is absorbed and accentuated by vast tranquility, the seclusion reaches its peak.
Fourth Couplet: "无事令人幽，停桡向馀景。"
Wú shì lìng rén yōu, tíng ráo xiàng yú jǐng.
Mind unburdened, stillness emerges; I stop paddling to face the lingering view.
The conclusion elevates mood and philosophy. "Mind unburdened" is key—meaning both external freedom from worldly affairs and internal freedom from mental clutter. Only with an unburdened mind can external "stillness" be truly perceived. "Stop paddling" is highly symbolic: actively abandoning human propulsion to entrust oneself completely to nature and time represents spiritual cessation and devotion. "Lingering view" carries subtle nostalgia for fading beauty, leaving enduring resonance.
Holistic Appreciation
This poem resembles a miniature landscape documentary, tracing the poet's complete spiritual journey from "entering the scene" to "merging with the scene" and finally "dissolving into the scene." Beginning with dynamic "departure" and ending with static "cessation," interspersed with subtle movements like "rising/sitting," "rippling," "echoes," and "words," it outlines a three-dimensional, inhabitable world of seclusion through dynamic-tension interplay. Li Bai not only depicts the stream's external beauty but constructs an ideal spiritual homeland contrasting with corrupt officialdom and chaotic human affairs. Here, "tranquility" is a positive stillness filled with life's rhythm and philosophical radiance—the serenity and joy of a liberated soul.
Artistic Merits
- Synesthesia and Dialectics of Senses: The poet integrates vision (cloud-forest, reflections), hearing (echoes, words), and inner perception (stillness), employing the dialectic of "sound" and "silence" to create a transcendent composite atmosphere.
- Skillful Perspective Shifts: From macroscopic boat speed to mid-scene fish/birds/landscape, then to microscopic self-reflections and soft speech, the perspective shifts from distant to near, external to internal, ultimately focusing on subtle mental sensations.
- Miraculous Efficacy of Word Craft: "Swiftly" conveys urgency, "rippling" animates the scene, "harmony" gathers natural melodies, "deepen" intensifies quietude—each character precisely bears responsibility for constructing the atmosphere.
- Organic Structural Unity: Following an internal logic of "action-engagement-perception-sublimation," the poem progresses from physical movement to environmental interaction to spiritual epiphany, ultimately achieving self-nature unity.
Insights
This poem offers a life philosophy for seeking inner peace in a clamorous world. The "tranquility" Li Bai pursues is not dead silence but a vibrant life-state gained through deep connection with nature. It teaches that true serenity stems from an "unburdened mind"—releasing excessive attachments and disturbances. When we can "stop paddling" to embrace the "lingering view" around us, even momentarily, our spirits find dwelling. In fast-paced modern life, this wisdom of "stopping paddling to face the lingering view" may be an antidote to anxiety and a means to reclaim inner order.
About the poet
Li Bai (李白), 701 - 762 A.D., whose ancestral home was in Gansu, was preceded by Li Guang, a general of the Han Dynasty. Tang poetry is one of the brightest constellations in the history of Chinese literature, and one of the brightest stars is Li Bai.
