Not Finding the Hermit of West Mountain
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
直上三十里。
扣关无僮仆，
窥室唯案几。
若非巾柴车，
应是钓秋水。
差池不相见，
黾勉空仰止。
草色新雨中，
松声晚窗里。
及兹契幽绝，
自足荡心耳。
虽无宾主意，
颇得清净理。
兴尽方下山，
何必待之子。
English translation
On the very peak, a thatched hut, thirty li of straight climbing.
I knock at the gate: no servant boy, peering in, only a table and a stool.
If he is not riding out in his hooded cart, he must be angling in the autumn water.
We missed each other, coming and going, in vain I struggled up to gaze at the heights.
The color of the grass in the fresh rain, the sound of the pines at the evening window.
Then I met this solitude's very essence, enough to wash both heart and ear.
Though there was no host to receive me, I gained much of the pure and quiet truth.
My mood fulfilled, I come down the mountain, why must I wait for the man?
Meaning
Upon the high mountain top there stands a thatched hut, a good thirty li's climb from the foot.
I tapped lightly at the brushwood gate, but no boy servant answered; peeping in, I saw only a table and a little stand.
The master has not gone out in his hooded cart; he must have gone to angle in the green pool of autumn water.
I have missed the hour and cannot meet him, and so have betrayed in vain the earnest admiration in my heart.
How fresh and green the grass is after the new rain; the evening wind carries the sound of the pines into the window.
This quiet spot suits my refined mood well; it is enough to cleanse both body and mind, both ear and eye.
Though I have not yet spoken with the master, I have already grasped the truth of purity and stillness.
Having had my fill of delight, I go contentedly down the hill; why must I insist upon meeting this hermit?
Background
Read the background
This is an early work of Qiu Wei; judging by the longing for forests and springs that it expresses, it was probably written before the poet passed the jinshi examination. As the title shows, the poet made a special journey into the mountains to seek out a hermit, but did not find him. Yet seeing the surroundings of the hermit's dwelling moved him deeply, and he wrote this poem.