52. The Song of Returning to Lumen Mountain at Night

A poem by Meng Haoran, translated by Hyun Woo Kim, and an announcement

The mountain temple's bell has rung—the day is already getting dark;

At the quay of Yuliang, the noises of fussing to cross the water.

The people head to the river town along a sand road;

I also get on a boat and return to Lumen.

The moonlight of Lumen opens up the fog and trees;

I arrive at the hiding place where Pang Gong stayed, suddenly.

The rock-doors, the pine-roads, and the long silence;

Only a hiding man comes and goes on his own.

「夜歸鹿門山歌​」

山寺鍾鳴晝已昏

漁梁渡頭爭渡喧

人隨沙路向江村

余亦乘舟歸鹿門

鹿門月照開煙樹

忽到龐公棲隱處

岩扉松徑長寂寥

惟有幽人自來去

From Hyun Woo:

I believe I have written before that Meng Haoran’s language is crystal clear. Still, though the way he writes may be clear in terms of linguistics, it does not equate to being clear in terms of poetics. From the way I see it, there is a contrast between “I” and the “people” in the poem. Unlike the people who “head to the river town”, the poetic narrator goes to Lumen Mountain alone. Later, he states that “only a hiding man comes and goes on his own”, which must imply that somehow, those who went to the river town do not come and go on their own. But why does he “suddenly” arrive at the hiding place of Pang Gong, a recluse who lived about four centuries before Meng Haoran? Could it be that he did not recognize the place until the moon came up? Then what would this description imply in terms of his agency? I’d love to hear how you interpret today’s poem, so please write back or leave what you think in the comments.

Announcement:

It’s March now—which means, another Classical Chinese poetry postcard is getting prepared! The postcards are sent to the paid subscribers, so if you haven’t already, please consider becoming one. Also, if you are already a paid subscriber but haven’t given me your address, please do, or at least let me know that you don’t want the postcards. I will be very grateful. Even last January, I could not send the postcards to some of you since I did not have your addresses.

In addition, next week will mark the first anniversary of Three Hundred Tang Poems. Time does fly, doesn’t it? I am thinking of special gifts to celebrate the occasion. Thank you for reading Tang poems with me all along!

If you enjoyed my work, you can buy me a cup of tea. I am not a coffee person, by the way.