Meng Haoran: Together With Government Official Zhang, Climb Lumen Mountain

 

[updated October 2022]

 

Together With Government Official Zhang, Climb Lumen Mountain

 

和 张 明 府 登 鹿 门 山
忽 示 登 高 作
能 宽 旅 寓 情。
弦 歌 既 多 暇
山 水 思 微 清。
草 得 风 光 动
虹 因 雨 气 成。
谬 承 巴 俚 和
非 敢 应 同 声。
He Zhang Ming Fu Deng Lu Men Shan

Hu shi deng gao zuo
Neng kuan lu yu qing.
Xian ge ji duo xia
Shan shui si wei qing.

Cao dei feng guang dong
Hong yin yu qi cheng.
Miu cheng ba li he
Fei gan ying tong sheng.

 

Together With Government Official Zhang, Climb Lumen Mountain

Suddenly begin to ascend and make poems
We can travel to relax and calm our emotions.
A lot of free time for songs and melodies
Mountains and their rivers profound with purity and transparency.

Early winds move the grasses
After rain, a rainbow forms.
I must have an incorrect understanding of this local poetry
We cannot write linked poems with the same voice.

 

Notes:

Lumen Mountain:  In English it is known as Deer Gate Mountain. Located ten miles east of Meng’s hometown city of Xiangyang, Hubei Province. The Buddhist Lumen temple is located nearby.

 

Commentary:

The word “deer” conjures up a picture of secluded and empty forests and mountains.  When the Buddha revealed the insights of his Enlightenment, it was at a place called “Deer Park”.