To find you, moved beyond the city,
A wide path led me, by mulberry and hemp,
To a new-set hedge of chrysanthemums --
Not yet blooming although autumn had come.
...I knocked; no answer, not even a dog.
I waited to ask your western neighbour;
But he told me that daily you climb the mountain,
Never returning until sunset.
Original Poem:
「寻陆鸿渐不遇」
僧皎然
移家虽带郭， 野径入桑麻。
近种篱边菊， 秋来未著花。
扣门无犬吠， 欲去问西家。
报到山中去， 归来每日斜。
Interpretation:
Lu Hongjian that is, the tea sage Lu Yu, lifelong non-professional, living in Wuxing, Zhejiang Province, today, famous for being good at tea tasting, authored the book “Tea Scriptures”.
Said Lu Yu’s new place of residence although not far from the city, but the path leading to it on both sides is still full of mulberry, which can not help but make people think of full of idyllic poetry. Chrysanthemums have been planted along the hedge next to Lu Yu’s new residence, but because it is fall, they have not yet bloomed. This is not just about chrysanthemums, it implies the meaning of “picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely seeing the south mountain”, which expresses Lu Yu’s noble aspiration.
Has come to the door of Lu Yu’s new residence, the poet will “knock”, but after half a day of knocking, no one answered, no barking, he thought his friends probably not, want to turn around and go back. He thought his friend was probably not there, and wanted to turn around and go back. However, he thought that he had come a long way to talk to him, and it was a pity that he had to go back without meeting him. So he asked his neighbor to the west where his friend had gone. The neighbor’s answer is very interesting: he went to the mountains again, and every time he came back, the sun is the western slant of the sun. The neighbor’s inability to understand Lu Yu’s strange behavior is portrayed very vividly. At the same time, it also implicitly sets off Lu Yu’s leisurely traveling in the mountains and forests, and his air of transcendence.
The whole poem is not directly about Lu Yu, but it shows the hermit’s life and interests from the description of the environment and the neighbors’ replies. The poem is in loose meter, not sticking to the couplets, with a smooth and natural flavor, showing Kyauk Ran’s unique poetic style.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Monk Jiao Ran (date of birth and death unknown), commonly known as Xie, was a native of Wuxing, Zhejiang Province. He became a monk and was called Jiao Ran. He lived for a long time in Miaoxi Temple on Loom Mountain in Wuxing. He was the most famous monk of the Tang dynasty, and was associated with Wei Yingwu and the later Liu Yuxi and Li Duan. His poems are mainly about landscapes and religion, and his poetic style is leisurely and elegant. There are also some works depicting the Border Places and love affairs between men and women. His monograph on poetry, Poetic Style, is notable and influential among classical poetic treatises.
