Seeing Off Cui the Ninth
English translation and interpretation are being reviewed.
须尽丘壑美。
莫学武陵人，
暂游桃源里。
English translation
Going back to the hills, go deep into their depths, you must exhaust the beauty of the valleys and ravines.
Do not imitate the man of Wuling, who visited Peach Blossom Spring but briefly.
Meaning
Go back to the deep hills and forests, and take your fill of the peaks and ravines. Do not be like the man of Wuling in Tao Yuanming's tale, who wandered briefly in the Peach Blossom Spring and then hurried out again.
Background
Read the background
The author lived roughly in the reigns of Emperor Xuanzong and Emperor Suzong of Tang; this poem was probably written in the later years of Xuanzong's reign, though its exact date is unknown. Cui Jiu — that is, Cui Xingzong — was a poet of the High Tang who in his youth lived in retirement with Pei Di and Wang Wei, exchanging poems; he later entered office and rose to be a remonstrance officer, but soon grew disgusted with official life and resigned to return to seclusion. Pei Di wrote this poem at the farewell feast held in his honor.