Reply to Minister Su, He Came to My Lantian Cottage, Not Meeting Me Because I Was Engaged Outside, He Left a Message
酬虞部苏员外过蓝田别业不见留之作
贫 居 依 谷 口
乔 木 带 荒 村。
石 路 枉 回 驾
山 家 谁 候 门。
渔 舟 胶 冻 浦
猎 火 烧 寒 原。
惟 有 白 云 外
疎 钟 闻 夜 猿。
Chou Yu Bu Su Yuan Wai Guo Lan Tian Bie Ye Bu Jian Liu Zhi Zuo
Pin ju yi gu kou
Qiao mu dai huang cun.
Shi lu wang hui jia
Shan jia shui hou men.
Yu zhou jiao dong pu
Lie huo shao han yuan.
Wei you bai yun wai
Shu zhong wen ye yuan.
Reply to Minister Su, He Came to My Lantian Cottage,
Not Meeting Me Because I Was Engaged Outside, He Left a Message
My poor dwelling, where a windy mountain valley opens out
Quick-growing trees where the village meets the uncultivated land.
Return by carriage along a crooked stone road
No mountain people waiting at their gates for visitors.
Fishing boats stuck to the frozen water’s edge
Hunting fires burn on the frigid open country.
Only when outside and beyond white clouds
Can one hear the nocturnal, distant bells and monkey cries.
Notes:
Lantian cottage: Refers to Wang Wei’s vacation estate located in modern county of Lantian. It located in the Qinling mountain foothills, just south of the capital city of Chang’an (Xi’an).
White clouds: An awareness and consciousness things beyond ordinary thinking.
