孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
忆周秀才素上人时闻各在一方
Remembering Exam Graduate Zhou, the pure monk, when I heard of everyone's getting a position
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东西分我情 魂梦安能定 野客云作心 高僧月为性 |
East and west, I have feelings for both That are sure to give me peaceful dreams. Wild wanderer, writing clouds on his heart. Eminent monk, nature like the moon. |
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浮云自高闲 明月常空净 衣敝得古风 居山无俗病 |
In transcience, too proud of his idleness. Full moon, always empty and pure. Clothes shabby, true to the ancient way. Living in the hills without vulgarity. |
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吟听碧云语 手把青松柄 羡尔欲寄书 飞禽杳难倩 |
Hear him chant, voice like dark clouds. His hand grasps the power of green pines. In admiration, I want to send him this poem. Flying bird, mysterious, difficult beauty. |
-- 孟郊
废话
This poem is perhaps a bit late in its placement in the scrolls. It sounds to me as if it were from Meng Jiao's trying-to-pass-exams phase. And it's hard to tell if Monk Zhou went for a position or went back to the hills. As Buddhist monasteries were shut down, there must have been educated monks who decided to try the political exam route, if for no other reason than to make a living. And like the graduates of any school, there must have been some who said, "The hell with this," and went off to do something else.