Staying at Master Ye’s Mountain Room, Waiting for Ding Da
The setting sun passes the western ridge;
The valleys suddenly grow dark.
Moonlight among pines brings the cool of night;
Wind and spring water fill my ears with clear sounds.
The woodcutters have nearly all gone home;
Birds in the mist have just settled to roost.
My friend promised to come and stay the night;
With my lonely qin I wait by the vine-covered path.
Notes
Master Ye is identified as a Buddhist monk; the title has variant readings. Ding Da is the expected friend. The final line also survives in variants, including a reading meaning solitary lodging. A qin is a Chinese stringed instrument.
Meaning
At a mountain dwelling, the speaker watches evening deepen and waits beside a path for a friend who has not arrived.
Appreciation
The setting sun and darkening valleys establish time passing during the wait.
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Moonlit pines, cool air, wind and water bring sight, touch and sound into the mountain scene.
Woodcutters go home and birds settle while the waiting speaker remains.
The promised visit and the qin appear only at the end; variant readings give the last image different details.
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.