Lushan Mountain Tour
Dynasty: Song Dynasty Author: Mei Yaochen
Suitable and wild, thousands of mountains are high and low.
The beautiful peaks change everywhere, and the quiet paths are lonely and confusing.
The frost falls, the bear rises up the tree, and the deer drinks from the stream in the empty forest.
Where are they? There was a sound of chicken outside the clouds.
Translation
Erlu Mountain is full of mountains and hills, with thousands of peaks competing for beauty. One is high and the other is low. It is a spectacular sight. It just suits my taste of loving natural scenery. I can go to one place to see it. When you reach one kind of good peak, and then go to another place, you can see another kind of strange ridge. A person is walking on the mountain path, winding and twisting, and even he doesn’t know where he is going. Sometimes he actually I lost my way and the forest was empty, so I could see blind bears climbing up the bare trees; through the sparse gaps in the trees, I could also see wild deer drinking water by the mountain stream and walking in the mountains. The quiet autumn mountains could not be seen. When I arrived at the house, I couldn't see any smoke. I also doubted whether there were people living in this mountain. I couldn't help but ask myself, "Where are they?"; while I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard "Oh, oh, oh" coming from above the white clouds in the mountains. "A cock crows. Oh, it turns out that my home is still on the top of that high mountain
Notes
① Lushan: In today’s Lushan County, Henan.
②Suitable: just right. Comfortable (qiè): contented.
③Wild feelings: Love of mountains and wilderness
④Change everywhere: (Mountains) change with the viewing angle. ⑤Youjing: small road.
⑥The bear climbs the tree: The bear climbs the tree.
⑦ He Xu: Where, where.
⑧ Beyond the Clouds: Describing distant places. A chicken sound means that there is a family.
Creative background
The poem was written in 1040 AD (the first year of Kangding, Renzong of the Song Dynasty). The author was thirty-nine years old at the time. This five-character poem describes the wild scenery and wild interest of Lushan Mountain, highlighting the tranquility of the mountains and forests and the joyful mood of the mountain hikers.
Mei Yaochen (1002-1060), courtesy name Shengyu, was a native of Xuancheng, Xuanzhou (now part of Anhui). Xuancheng was named Wanling in ancient times, and the ancient people called it Meiwanling. With Congfu Yin as the chief register of Tongcheng, Henan and Heyang, he has known Dexing, Jiande and Xiangcheng. Huang Youchu was born in the same Jinshi family, and he was an official wailang in Shangshudu. Jiayou died in the fifth year of his reign at the age of fifty-nine. There are biographies in "History of the Song Dynasty" and "Dongdu Shilue". There are sixty volumes of "Wanling Collection". "Complete Song Ci" contains two of his poems.