Staying at Wang Changling's Retreat
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
隐处唯孤云。
松际露微月，
清光犹为君。
茅亭宿花影，
药院滋苔纹。
余亦谢时去，
西山鸾鹤群。
English translation
The clear stream is too deep to fathom, over his retreat only a lone cloud.
Between the pines a faint moon shows, its clear light still shining for you.
In the thatched pavilion the flowers' shadows lodge, the herb court grows rich in moss.
I too would take leave of the age and go, and join the phoenixes and cranes of the western hills.
Meaning
The clear stream flows into the fathomless valley of Stone Gate; in the place of your retreat only a lone cloud keeps you company.
Through the tops of the pines a faint moonlight breaks; this pure and quiet light seems sent especially for you.
In the stillness of the night above the thatched pavilion the flower shadows seem to have fallen peacefully asleep; in the herb garden there are mottled mosses everywhere.
I too would cast off the burdens of the world as he has done, and go to keep company with the cranes of the western hills.
Background
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Chang Jian and Wang Changling passed the jinshi examination in the same year, 727 (the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang), becoming colleagues in office as well as good friends. But after entering official life their careers and ends were quite unlike. This poem was written when Chang Jian resigned his post to return to seclusion and passed by the dwelling Wang Changling had occupied before taking office, at what is now Mount Shimen in Hanshan County, Anhui Province. Spending the night at the former retreat of an old friend and moved by the scene, Chang Jian wrote this piece.