I am the madman of the Ch'u country
Who sang a mad song disputing Confucius.
...Holding in my hand a staff of green jade,
I have crossed, since morning at the Yellow Crane Terrace,
All five Holy Mountains, without a thought of distance,
According to the one constant habit of my life .
...Lu Mountain stands beside the Southern Dipper
In clouds reaching silken like a nine-panelled screen,
\Vith its shadows in a crystal lake deepening the green water.
The Golden Gate opens into two mountain-ranges.
A silver stream is hanging down to three stone bridges
Within sight of the mighty Tripod Falls.
Ledges of cliff and winding trails lead to blue sky
And a flush of cloud in the morning sun,
Whence no flight of birds could be blown into Wu .
...I climb to the top. I survey the whole world.
I see the long river that runs beyond return,
Yellow clouds that winds have driven hundreds of miles
And a snow-peak whitely circled by the swirl of a ninefold stream.
And so I am singing a song of Lu Mountain,
A song that is born of the breath of Lu Mountain.
...Where the Stone Mirror makes the heart's purity purer
And green moss has buried the footsteps of Hsieh,
I have eaten the immortal pellet and, rid of the world's troubles,
Before the lute's third playing have achieved my element.
Far away I watch the angels riding coloured clouds
Toward heaven's Jade City, with hibiscus in their hands.
And so, when I have traversed the nine sections of the world,
I will follow Saint Lu-ao up the Great Purity.
Original Poem:
「庐山谣寄卢侍御虚舟」
李白
我本楚狂人，凤歌笑孔丘。
手持绿玉杖，朝别黄鹤楼。
五岳寻仙不辞远，一生好入名山游。
庐山秀出南斗傍，屏风九叠云锦张，
影落明湖青黛光。
金阙前开二峰长，银河倒挂三石梁。
香炉瀑布遥相望，回崖沓嶂凌苍苍。
翠影红霞映朝日，鸟飞不到吴天长。
登高壮观天地间，大江茫茫去不还。
黄云万里动风色，白波九道流雪山。
好为庐山谣，兴因庐山发。
闲窥石镜清我心，谢公行处苍苔没。
早服还丹无世情，琴心三叠道初成。
遥见仙人彩云里，手把芙蓉朝玉京。
先期汗漫九垓上，愿接卢敖游太清。
Interpretation:
This poem was written by Li Bai when he came to Mount Lu from Jiangxia after being pardoned.
Li Bai was very ambitious politically, but because the ideal could not be realised, he turned to travel famous mountains to seek immortality and visit Taoism. In the poet’s writing, Mount Lu towering into the clouds, and the sky near the Nandou star, the shape of the mountain such as a screen, as if the clouds unfolded, the mountain shadow and lake reflect each other, beautiful and handsome. Both the incense burner peak and double sword peak confrontation, there are three folds of the waterfall of the three folds of the spring down, just like the Milky Way upside down flying, and the incense burner peak of the waterfalls far away from each other. The verdant mountain colour reflects the red sunrise is incomparably gorgeous ……
The poet describes the Mount Lu overlooking the vast Yangtze River water flowing to the east, looking at the miles of yellow clouds undulating, the scenery on both sides of the river is constantly changing, the Yangtze River nine tributaries, rolling with the snowy mountain-like white waves. I can’t help feeling that my heart is clear, and I borrowed the story of Xie Lingyun to express the sigh of a great event that is hard to come by, and to imply the intention of seeking immortality and visiting the Tao. The poet imagined that he could take the elixir of immortality early, cultivate and ascend to the immortal world, and reach the free immortal world he desired. When he looked into the distance, he seemed to see the immortals riding on the colourful clouds, holding hibiscus in their hands, going to Mount Yujing to pay homage to the God of Heaven. So he invited Lu to travel with him.
The whole poem describes the strange scenery of Mount Lu and the majestic momentum of the Yangtze River, with rich imagination and open realm, giving people the enjoyment of the beauty of the majestic. In Li Bai’s writing, Mount Lu is both majestic and strange. Write this realm, only with the search for immortality fantasy harmony. Write the hope into reality, extremely rich in romanticism.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
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.
