Jia Dao Poems

With hiking stick
he makes good time in the mountains;
asks everyone he meets,
how far is it to Zizhou.
...

Cèzhàng chí shānyì,
Féngrén wèn Zǐzhōu.
Chāngjiāng nà kědào,
Xíngkè tì shēng chóu.
...

Deep and hidden, cicadas
fill the dusk;
startled, you awaken
from stone bed sleep.
...

Beneath the pine-trees, I ask of a lad I see.
Away is the master gathering herbs, says he,
Up in this mountain, but where? I cannot tell,
For there the clouds are deep and dense as be.
...

Sōng xià wèn tóngzǐ，
Yán shī cǎi yào qù.
Zhǐ zài cǐ shān zhōng，
Yún shēn bù zhī chǔ.
...

Early morning
leave from Waterdrop;
by dusk arrive
at Hanging Falls.
...

At dawn you mount, ride swiftly over the village bridge,
Petals fall on Plum Stream, snow still frozen.
Short days, frigid sky, I grieve at your departure,
Endless Chu Mountains, your road ever remote.
...

Sail spread, you're ready
to depart on autumn waters,
to enter a deep, far realm
between realms.
...

Xuán fān dài qiūshuǐ,
Qù rù yǎomíng guān.
Dōnghǎi jǐnián bié,
Zhōnghuá cǐrì huán.
Àn yáo shēng báifà,
Bō jìn lù qīngshān.
Gé shuǐ xiāng sī zài,
Wú shū yěshì xián.
...

Ask disciple beneath the pines,
Says Master's gone to gather herbs.
He's somewhere in these mountains,
Dense Fog, who knows where...
...