A Recluse
Rocks hang precariously overhead, as a lonely fisherman sleeps in a cave. He rises at dawn and as the mist disappears finds that he is alone.
漁翁, Yú Wēng
Liu Zongyuan, 柳宗元
An Old Fisherman
漁翁夜傍西巖宿
Yúwēng yè bàng xī yán sù,
I knew an old fisherman who slept in a cave in the cliffs,
曉汲清湘燃楚竹
xiǎo jí qīng xiāng rán chǔ zhú.
He rose at dawn, drew clear water, and started a fire.
煙銷日出不見人
Yān xiāo rì chū bùjiàn rén
And as the mist melted away, he saw not a soul,
欸乃一聲山水綠
āi nǎi yī shēng shānshuǐ lǜ.
Ah oh, such is the voice of the mountains and river.
回看天際下中流
Huí kàn tiānjì xià zhōngliú,
Midstream, he looks back, gazing at the vast horizon,
巖上無心雲相逐
yán shàng wúxīn yún xiāng zhú.
Above the cliff, clouds chase each other.
A Fisherman
Liu Zhongyuan (c. 773–819) was born in mountainous Shanxi province. His birth in 773 means that he avoided the troubles of the An Lushan Rebellion but not its devastating consequences. These consequences included a troubling political situation and ongoing oppression of the common people. Liu was a popular poet who fell out of favor with the imperial court because of his reformist tendencies. Exiled for a decade, he was eventually appointed Governor of Liuzhou in remote southern Guanxi province. He died in office at the age of forty-six (819).
Notes on Translation
āi nǎi 欸乃, the sound of a boat rocking in the waves.
yán shàng 巖上, the cliffs above, indicating the dangers we confront each day and night.
yún 雲, clouds, a metaphor for the brevity and insignificance of life. Chasing what?
Five of Liu Zongyuan’s poems are included in the Anthology of 300 Tang Poems. Three of which include a fisherman, (Yú Wēng 漁翁). The three poems are: “An Old Fisherman,” (this translation), “Dwelling By a Stream,” and “River Snow.”
yán shàng wúxīn yún xiāng zhú
Above the clouds chase each other.
100 Tang Poems 