Returning to the Southern Mountain at Year’s End
I will send no more petitions to the northern gate;
I return to my humble home by the southern mountain.
Untalented, I have been passed over by the ruler;
Often ill, I have grown distant from old friends.
White hair hastens the feeling of age;
The coming spring presses against the year’s end.
Long thoughts and sorrow keep me from sleep;
Moonlight among pines leaves the night window empty.
Notes
The northern gate stands for the court; the humble dwelling is the speaker’s home. The southern mountain has differing identifications. Green yang refers to spring, and the empty window describes a quiet night.
Meaning
The speaker turns away from court toward a mountain home, reflecting on age, illness and sleeplessness beneath moonlit pines.
Appreciation
Court and southern mountain contrast the decision to stop petitioning with returning home.
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The speaker’s self-criticism and feeling of distance from friends are expressions of feeling, not independent verdicts.
White hair and the approaching spring emphasise passing time.
Sleeplessness ends in the quiet image of moonlight and a window.
About the poet
Meng Haoran (689–740) was a Tang poet from the area of present-day Xiangyang, Hubei.
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He traveled widely and wrote about landscapes, rural life and journeys.
He is often associated with Wang Wei; his surviving works include Spring Morning, Passing an Old Friend’s Farm, and Mooring on the Jiande River.