孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
访嵩阳道士不遇
Searching for, but not finding, Daoist Song Yang
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先生五兵游 文焰藏金鼎 日下鹤过时 人间空落影 |
The master travels with five weapons, Conceals his flame in the buried golden cauldron. Sun sets. The time for cranes is past. In the world of men, empty shadows fall. |
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常言一粒药 不堕生死境 何当列御寇 去问仙人请 |
His ordinary words, each a grain of medicine. He stands unharmed on the border of life and death. How should we guard against today's evils? Go ask this immortal man how. |
-- 孟郊
废话
At least, I think that's what it says. Look. Here's line 1: 先生五兵游. That would be [master][five][soldier/weapon][travel/wander]. And so on. For eight lines. And I can't tell if Meng Jiao is seriously searching for this daoshi or if he's being a bit sarcastic here about some hermit who's supposed to be up in the mountains nearby.
I've been reading a lot of texts from 19th C England, btw. So by "past" in line 3, I may mean "passed." But I'd have to think about it. Which I'm unwilling to do right now.
And again, I point out that I have no idea yet what cranes stand for. I could make a sketchy guess. But I make enough of those out of necessity (re: this poem).
I would say that this poem is about a serous seach for a wise hermit. Except those last two lines suggest, to me, the slightest smirk on Meng Jiao's part.