— Wang Wei
Fresh rain washed the mountains bare,
Autumn permeates evening air.
Among pine trees bright moonbeams peer;
Over crystal stones flows water clear.
Bamboos whisper of washer-maids;
Lotus stirs when fishing boat wades.
Though fragrant spring may pass away,
Still here’s the place for noble souls to stay.
山居秋暝
— [唐]王维
空山新雨后，
天气晚来秋。
明月松间照，
清泉石上流。
竹喧归浣女，
莲动下渔舟。
随意春芳歇，
王孙自可留。
Note
In 736, Zhang Jiuling was removed from office due to political exclusion by Li Linfu and others. As court politics grew increasingly corrupt, Wang Wei’s political enthusiasm waned, and he developed a passive attitude toward official life. After 740, Wang Wei built a villa in the Zhongnan Mountains, where he led a semi-reclusive life, partly as an official and partly as a hermit. The poem “Autumn Evening in the Mountains” was written during this period, reflecting his state of life and inner feelings at the time.
This poem reveals the poet’s love of nature (i. e. pine trees, whispering bamboos, lotus blooms; bright moonbeams, clear water, crystal stones.) and man (i. e. washermaids, fishermen.)
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