Member Poem

Meng Haoran (689-740)

Feeling Autumn in the Midst of Qin:

A Poem for Monk Yuan

I desire

a lonely hill to rest in,

With but three paths to friends,

yet it is hardship without wealth.

I desire not

this Northern Capital:

It is you, my teacher, I miss,

at the Temple of the Eastern Forest.

I feed on gold

and burn cinnamon for warmth,

Ambition weakening

year-by-year.

Day and night

the cold wind blows;

I hear cicadas,

becoming still more sad.

Mèng hào rán

Qín zhōng gǎn qiū jì yuǎn shàng rén

Yī qiū cháng yù wò，

Sān jìng kǔ wú zī。

Běi tǔ fēi wú yuàn，

Dōng lín huái wǒ shī。

Huáng jīn rán guì jìn，

Zhuàng zhì zhú nián shuāi。

Rì xī liáng fēng zhì，

Wén chán dàn yì bēi。

Qin-province/Qin-Dynasty midst/middle/among feel/perceive autumn/fall send/transmit/bestow Yuan/distant Above Man/person

[Feudal-state-of-Qin = Chang’an, known as Xi’an city in the Shanxi province today. Chang’an was the capital of Tang Dynasty. As it was located in the State of Qin, the poet used “Qin middle” as a substitute], [Yuan Above Man = Yuan is the name, “Above Man” is an honorific title for a Buddhist monk]

A/one hill/knoll frequent/often desire/want/long-for lie-down/rest

[Note: this sentence means that the poet wanted to withdraw from society and live in solitude. A hill is an allusion of the place where a recluse lives. This allusion stems from the Book Of Han. According to this book, Ban Si has said that even the whole world could not replace the pleasure of reclusion in a knoll. Then people start to use a knoll as an allusion of recluse residence.]

Three footpaths/narrow-path hardship/bitter/suffering no wealth/property

[Note: this sentence means that although the poet wanted to live in seclusion, he didn’t have enough money to maintain a livelihood. “Three footpaths” involves a story in Han Dynasty. Jiang Xu resigned his official position and returned to his hometown. His residence was surrounded by weeds. He opened up three footpaths leading to his recluse friends, Qiu Zhong and Yang Zhong, and one other. He only kept in contacts with these friends.  Then the recluse poet Tao Yuanming (Jin Dynasty) used “three footpaths” in his famous essay Homeward Bound I Go. Afterwards, “three footpaths” became an allusion to recluse living.]

Northern soil/earth/land not I desire/want/wish/ambition

[Northern Soil = refers to Qin, namely Chang’an, because Chang’an was in the northwest of Tang Dynasty.], [願= desire. It is not the poet’s desire to stay in Chang’an; i.e., he had no government ambitions]

Eastern Forest/grove miss/carry-in-bosom my teacher/master

[Eastern Forest = Donglin = the Donglin Temple. The Donglin Temple is a Buddhist monastery located on Mount Lu in Jiangxi Province. According to Biographies of Eminent Monks, Hui Yuan, an eminent monk had preached in Xilin Temple (literally "West Wood Temple"). Because too many people came to visit him. The prefectural governor ordered construction of a new temple in the east of Mount Lu, namely Donglin Temple. In this poem, Donglin represents the place where eminent monks live.], [My teacher= Buddhist monk Yuan]

Yellow gold/money burn cinnamon/cassia use-up/deplete/run-out

[Note: According to Intrigues of the Warring States, Su Qin told the king of Chu that in the Chu Kingdom food was more expensive than jade and the firewood was more expensive than cinnamon; seeing a visitor was as hard as seeing a ghost, and seeing a king was as hard as seeing a god. Afterwards, feeding on jade and burning cinnamon becomes an expression to indicate the hardship of living. This line means that the poet could barely maintain a livelihood.]

Big/large/robust purpose/will one-by-one/chase year decrease/weaken

[Big purpose = ambition], [one-by-one year = year-by-year]

Day night/evening cold/cool wind/air reaches/arrives

[According to the Book of Rites, “In July, the cool breeze comes, the white dew comes, and the cicadas sing”.]

Hear/listens cicadas still/yet/only/but/however more sad/sorrow/grief