Jia Dao

Under pines
I ask the boy;
he says: 'My master's gone
to gather herbs.
...

I have heard
there has arrived in Yangzhou
an old friend
Playing the flute.
...

Massed mountains tower in the cold light,
A simple study facing this sight.
Shooting stars penetrate sparse trees,
The moon saunters toward recoiling mist.
...

Zhōngyè wù zì qǐ,
Jí cǐ bǎi chǐ quān.
Línmù hán báilù,
Xīngdǒu zài qīng tiān.
...

Under the pines
I ask the boy;
he says: 'My Master's gone
to gather herbs.
...

Below the pines I ask the boy
He says his master had gone to find herbs
He's somewhere on this mountain
But the clouds are too thick to know where
...

Wénshuō dào Yángzhōu,
Chuixiāo yǒu jiù yóu.
Rén lái duō bù jiàn,
Mòshì shàng mílóu.
...

In the middle of the night,
I suddenly rise;
draw water from
the high falls.
...

Yi Xī céng liúsù,
Zhōngnán yáo luò shí.
Gū dēng gāng shě yǎn,
Cán qìng xuě fēng chuī.
Shù lǎo yīn hán zhé,
Quán shēn chū jǐng chí.
Shūyōng qǐ yǒu shì,
Duō shī shàngfang qī.
...

Yōushēn zú mù chán,
Jīngjué shí chuáng mián.
Pùbù wǔ qiān rèn,
Cǎotáng pùbù biān.
Tán sōng juān dī lù,
Yuè yuè jué liáo Tiān.
Hè guò jūn xū kàn,
Shàng tóu yīngyǒu xiān.
...

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...
...