When the Emperor sought guidance from wise men, from exiles,
He found no calmer w i sdom than that of young Chia
And assigned him the foremost council-seat at midnight,
Yet asked him about gods, instead of about people.
Original Poem:
「送上人」
刘长卿
孤云将野鹤， 岂向人间住。
莫买沃洲山， 时人已知处。
Interpretation:
This poem uses the “wild crane” in the sky as a metaphor for the “master” on earth, which is appropriate for the identity. The monk is a wild crane in the clouds, going and coming without a trace, not being tired by the mundane things on earth. Since the poet is sending off the monk, it is naturally very appropriate to use “wild crane” to describe the monk’s whereabouts and even mentality. It emphasises the monk’s character of not being tired of earthly affairs, but the poet has not finished. The poet advises the monk that since he is already a monk, he should be as pure as possible and not live in a famous place like Mount Wo Chau because there are already a lot of people who know about it.
If you want to live there, live in a cold and remote place where no one knows about it, and be a real monk. The poem starts with the wild crane flying away through the clouds, which is a metaphor for a monk who returns to the mountains and is not attached to the world. The last two lines take it a step further, meaning that if you really want to get away from the world, don’t go to those famous mountains and blessed places that people are familiar with, because you still have to come and go with the ordinary people there. Some monks in the Tang Dynasty, often and dignitaries to interact, in order to raise the price, and not really want to get out of the world from the secular. The author may be for this situation, to express their feelings.
It can be seen that although this is a farewell poem, there is a sense of flirtation in it. Now that Mount Woju has become known to the people of the time, it is no longer a place of Buddhist purity. A true monk should not choose such a place to practice. The poet’s advice to the monks in this poem is very intriguing.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Liu Zhangqing (刘长卿-) was a native of Xian County, Hebei Province. He studied at Mt. Songshan when he was young, and later moved to Jiangxi, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 733 A.D. He also belonged to the Wang and Meng school of poetry. His poems belonged to the school of Wang and Meng, and he was most famous for his five-character poems, and was also most conceited, once thinking that he was “the Great Wall of five-character poems”, which meant that no one could surpass him.
