[updated September 2022]
Administrative Assistant Li Xi and Xiucai Pei Di Visit: Autumn Night Rain Composition
黎 拾 遗 昕 裴 秀 才 迪 见 过 秋 夜 对 雨 之 作
促 织 鸣 已 急
轻 衣 行 向 重。
寒 灯 坐 高 馆
秋 雨 闻 疏 钟。
白 法 调 狂 象
玄 言 问 老 龙。
何 人 顾 蓬 径？
空 愧 求 羊 踪。
Li Shi Yi Xin Pei Xiu Cai Di Jian Guo:
Qiu Ye Dui Yu Zhi Zuo
Cu zhi ming yi ji
Qing yi xing xiang chong.
Han deng zuo gao guan
Qiu yu wen shu zhong.
Bai fa tiao kuang xiang
Xuan yan wen lao long.
He ren gu peng jing ?
Kong kui qiu yang zong.
Administrative Assistant Li Xi and Xiucai Pei Di Visit:
Autumn Night Rain Composition
Crickets chirping getting anxious
With light clothes, wanting to wear heavier clothes.
One cold lamp, hung high in the room
Autumn rain, hear scattered, faint bell sounds.
White dharma disciplines the mad elephant
Using Buddha’s language to ask lao long.
Which people come to visit my unkempt path?
Ashamed my house is empty, qiu yang footprints.
Notes:
Xiucai: One who has passed the imperial examinations at the county level, and is now awaiting an appointment to a position in the government.
White dharma: Good works
Mad elephant: This term comes from an old Buddhist allegorical story about a crazy elephant who gets tamed by his trainer. The moral of the story is that a group of people crazed by greed and covetous desires can be changed by the grace and intervention of the Buddha.
Buddha’s language: This is the language of the Buddha and Laozi that most people would find difficult to understand. One example, the word “xuan” used three times in chapter one of the Dao De Jing.
Lao Long: Refers to Li Yuan, an advanced Dao Buddhist. Here Wang Wei is telling his friends that he is just a novice, while they are experienced, high level Buddhists.
Qiu yang: This term came from an old story about a man named Jiang Yu, who lived in rural seclusion (yinju). He had only three hidden paths to his remote house. Only his closest friends could find their way there. Wang Wei is overjoyed that these close friends could still find him and then share each other’s company.