Today’s post is a very short Tang Dynasty poem written by Wang Wei (王维, c. 701–761), also known as Mojie. During his lifetime, Wang was a prolific poet, and also traveled widely as a civil servant / official, working for the emperor. I picked up this poem from Phil H.’s Tang Poetry Substack, which you should absolutely subscribe to if you want to practice reading the classical poets, but I made a different translation of the text.
空山新雨后，天气晚来秋。
明月松间照，清泉石上流。
竹喧归浣女，莲动下渔舟。
随意春芳歇，王孙自可留。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 空山 | kōng shān | empty/quiet mountain |
| 新雨 | xīn yǔ | fresh rain |
| 明月 | míng yuè | bright moon |
| 清泉 | qīng quán | clear spring water |
| 竹喧 | zhú xuān | bamboo rustling/noise |
| 浣女 | huàn nǚ | washer-woman |
| 渔舟 | yú zhōu | fishing boat |
| 随意 | suí yì | as one pleases; at will |
| 王孙 | wáng sūn | official (sometimes, “recluse”) |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 天气 | tiān qì | weather |
| 晚 | wǎn | evening; night; late |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 秋 | Qīu | surname Qiu; old variant of 秋[qiu1]; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 松 | Sōng | surname Song; loose; to loosen; to relax; floss (dry, fluffy food product made from shredded, seasoned meat or fish, used as a topping or filling) |
| 间 | jiān | between; among; within a definite time or space; room; section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars; classifier for rooms |
| 照 | zhào | variant of 照[zhao4]; to shine; to illuminate; according to; in accordance with; to shine; to illuminate; to reflect; to look at (one's reflection); to take (a photo); photo; as requested; as before |
| 石 | Shí | surname Shi; abbr. for Shijiazhuang 石家莊|石家庄[Shi2 jia1 zhuang1], the capital of Hebei |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 归 | Guī | surname Gui |
| 莲 | lián | lotus |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 春 | chūn | old variant of 春[chun1]; surname Chun |
| 芳 | fang | fragrant |
| 歇 | xiē | to rest; to take a break; to stop; to halt; (dialect) to sleep; a moment; a short while |
| 自 | zì | (bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 留 | líu | old variant of 留[liu2]; to leave (a message etc); to retain; to stay; to remain; to keep; to preserve |
After fresh rain in the empty mountain, the evening weather brings autumn.
The bright moon shines between the pines, clear spring water flows over the stones.
Bamboo rustles as washer-women return home, lotus leaves stir as fishing boats go down [the river].
Though spring fragrance has faded away, I may well choose to stay.