For miles and miles I sail and float;
High famed mountains are hard to seek.
By riverside I moor my boat,
Then I perceive the Censer Peak.
Knowing the hermit's life and way,
I love his solitary dell.
His hermitage not far away,
I hear at sunset but the bell.
Original Poem:
「晚泊浔阳望庐山」
孟浩然
挂席几千里，名山都未逢。
泊舟浔阳郭，始见香炉峰。
尝读远公传，永怀尘外踪。
东林精舍近，日暮空闻钟。
Interpretation:
Meng Haoran wrote this poem in 733 A.D. when he was on his way home through Jiujiang after a long journey and stayed in Xunyang at night, looking out over Mount Lu.
The first four lines: After thousands of miles of sailing on the river, it is surprising that I have not encountered a single famous mountain. When I moored the boat outside Xunyang, only to see the incense burner peak is extraordinary.
Light pen gently waved, sketched out a wide piece of nature, not carved individual scenes, but left the reader a rich imagination. We seem to see the poet's light boat, skimming over a thousand miles of smoke on the river countless green hills. Then depicted the poet raised his head to see Mount Lu in front of the surprise of the sudden rise of the demeanor.
The last four lines: I have read the biography of Huiyuan Gong, whose traces outside the dust will always make me nostalgic. Although the East Forest Essence House is close at hand, but in vain to hear the sound of the bell.
Faced with the smoke and clouds on the Fragrant Furnace Peak, the poet's thoughts drifted. He remembered the monk Huiyuan, who was once at the Fragrant Furnace Peak. He had read Huiyuan's biography and deeply admired and missed the monk's renunciation of the world. At this moment, the East Woods is right in front of his eyes, but Hui-yuan has long become an ancient man, so the poet feels depressed and sentimental. At the end of the poem, there is a melodious sound of bells coming from Donglin Temple in the sunset. The poet's feelings of despair and nostalgia are expressed more profoundly.
The colors of the whole poem are quiet and simple, and the charm is natural. What the poet sees, hears and thinks reveals his admiration for the life of seclusion.
Poem translator:
Xu Yuan-chong (许渊冲)
About the poet:
Meng Haoran (孟浩然), 689-740 AD, a native of Xiangyang, Hubei, was a famous poet of the Sheng Tang Dynasty. With the exception of one trip to the north when he was in his forties, when he was seeking fame in Chang'an and Luoyang, he spent most of his life in seclusion in his hometown of Lumenshan or roaming around.
