At Leisure in Wangchuan, for Pei Di
The autumn mountains grow more deeply green;
Autumn water flows gently day after day.
Leaning on my staff outside the brushwood gate,
I face the wind and listen to evening cicadas.
A trace of sunset remains at the ferry;
A lone thread of smoke rises from the village.
Again I meet a drunken Jieyu,
Singing wildly before the man of Five Willows.
Notes
Wangchuan lies near present-day Lantian in Shaanxi; Pei Di was Wang Wei’s friend. Jieyu was a legendary recluse, used here as a comparison for Pei. Five Willows refers to Tao Yuanming and is used by the speaker for himself.
Meaning
Autumn mountains, flowing water and village smoke frame the poet’s meeting with his friend Pei Di.
Appreciation
Green mountains and flowing water establish an autumn setting.
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Leaning on a staff and listening to cicadas bring the speaker into the scene.
Sunset at the ferry and smoke from the village mark evening and ordinary life.
Allusions to Jieyu and Five Willows describe the friend and speaker in a moment of companionship.
About the poet
Wang Wei (c. 701–761), courtesy name Mojie, was a Tang poet, painter and official whose family originated near present-day Qixian, Shanxi.
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He served in government and spent time at Wangchuan; poems exchanged with Pei Di are well known.
His works also include Deer Enclosure and Seeing Yuan Er Off to Anxi.