My heart in middle age found the Way.
And I came to dwell at the foot of this mountain.
When the spirit moves, I wander alone
Amid beauty that is all for me....
I will walk till the water checks my path,
Then sit and watch the rising clouds --
And some day meet an old wood-cutter
And talk and laugh and never return.
Original Poem:
「终南别业」
王维
中岁颇好道， 晚家南山陲。
兴来美独往， 胜事空自知。
行到水穷处， 坐看云起时。
偶然值林叟， 谈笑无还期。
Interpretation:
This poem is one of the most famous masterpieces of the “light and natural” style of landscape and idyllic poetry.
The first couplet describes how the poet became tired of the world and practiced Buddhism after middle age, and retired to the side of Zhongnan Mountain in his later years.
The second couplet describes the poet’s life as a recluse in Zhongnan. Here, the poet did not write in detail about the beauty and pleasure he saw and encountered, but the image of a leisurely recluse has already appeared on the paper.
The third link further describes the poet’s interest in visiting and elegance. Simple two sentences outlines a leisurely state of mind, casual and free hermit’s image: he went back to the stream, unknowingly went to the end of the water, it looks like there is no way to go, then simply sit down, and watch idly before the eyes of a white cloud rising …… white clouds in poetry has always been a representative of the free and easy, leisurely and free of charge! The most famous thing about this line is that it’s the most popular one. This line is most praised for its simplicity of expression, its picturesque poetry and its philosophy of life.
The last line shows the poet’s light nature and transcendental style.
Poem translator:
Kiang Kanghu
About the poet:
Wang Wei (王维), 701-761 A.D., was a native of Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. Wang Wei was a poet of landscape and idylls. His poems of landscape and idylls, with far-reaching images and mysterious meanings, were widely loved by readers in later generations, but Wang Wei never really became a man of landscape and idylls.
