Meng Haoran: In a Boat at Daybreak, Gaze Into the Distance

 

[updated September 2022]

 

In a Boat at Daybreak, Gaze Into the Distance

 

舟 中 晓 望
挂 席 东 南 望
青 山 水 国 遥。
舳 舻 争 利 涉
来 往 接 风 湖。
问 我 今 何 去?
天 台 访 石 桥。
坐 看 烟 霞 晓
疑 是 赤 城 标。
Zhou Zhong Xiao Wang

Gua xi dong nan wang
Qing shan shui guo yao.
Zhu lu zheng li she
Lai wang jie feng hu.

Wen wo jin he qu?
Tian tai fang shi qiao.
Zuo kan yan xia xiao
Yi shi chi cheng biao.

 

In a Boat at Daybreak, Gaze Into the Distance

Raise the sail, gaze back to the distant southeast
Green mountains, water scenery in a distant land.
Boats lined up bow to stern, waiting to enter the river’s faster current
Quickly catch the favorable wind patterns.

You ask me where I went today
To visit the stone bridge at Tiantai.
Sit here, I see through the rosy clouds and mists at daybreak
Probably the outline of Chi Cheng.

 

Notes:

Tiantai: Mountain inside Zhejiang Province. Famous Buddhist temple on the mountain for the sect of Buddhism that venerates the Lotus Sutra.

Chi Cheng: The highest peak of this mountain range.