山居秋瞑 | 王维

Mountain Life in the Autumn Dusk

  Wang Wei            Jan 31, 2023      Wang Wei reflects on the changing seasons.



Original Title

山居秋暝 

Shānjū qiū míng 

[Mountain] [Residence] [Autumn] [Gloom/Dusk]


Modern Title

秋天傍晚的山居生活

Mountain Life in the Autumn Dusk


Author

·王维

táng·wáng wéi

By: Wang Wei


Poem

空山新雨后,天气晚来秋。 

kōngshān xīn yǔ hòu, tiānqì wǎn lái qiū

[Empty] [mountain] [new] [rain] [after], [weather] [evening] [comes] [autumn]

After the rain in the empty mountains, the night heralds the coming of autumn.


明月松间照,清泉石上流。

Míngyuè sōng jiān zhào, qīngquán shí shàngliú.

[bright] [moon] [pine] [between] [shine], [fresh spring] [rock] [upper reaches]

The bright moon shines between the pines, the fresh water flows from the spring.


竹喧归浣女,莲动下渔舟。 

Zhú xuān guī huàn nǚ, lián dòng xià yúzhōu. 

[bamboo] [noisy] [return] [wash] [women], [lotus] [moves] [under] [fishing boats]

The clamor of washerwomen returning through the bamboo groves, the boats glide over the lotus flowers.


随意春芳歇,王孙自可留。

Suíyì chūnfāng xiē, wángsūn zì kě liú.

[do as one pleases] [the blooming of spring flowers] [withered vegetation], [prince’s son, here: Wang Wei] [from] [may] [stay]

As spring leaves with the coming of autumn, I am lucky enough to stay.


Vocabulary

暝:傍晚, nightfall

: 声音杂乱的大声说话, speaking in familiar tones

洗女:洗衣服的女子, washerwomen

: 顺流而下, downstream

随意: 任凭, do as one pleases

春芳: 指春天盛开的鲜花,refers to the blooming of spring flowers.

歇:here: 草木凋零, withered vegetation — in other contexts, this generally means 休息, rest

王孙: here: 王维自己,Wang Wei generally: 王公贵族的子孙, the grandchildren of nobles.


Rhyme Scheme

AA, XA, XA, XA. (hou, qiu, liu, zhou)

“X” here denotes no rhyme.