Peach Blossoms in the Temple of Great Forest [Tang Poems]

— Bai Juyi

All flowers in late spring have fallen far and wide,

But peach blossoms are full-blown on this mountainside.

I oft regret spring’s gone without leaving its trace;

I do not know it’s come up to adorn this place.

Note

Bai Juyi (772–846 CE) was one of the most beloved and widely read poets of the Tang Dynasty, known for his clear, accessible language, humanistic concerns, and later-life embrace of Buddhist and Daoist ideals of simplicity and harmony with nature. He often wrote about everyday experiences with warmth, wit, and philosophical insight.

His short poem “Peach Blossoms at Dalin Temple” captures a moment of joyful surprise during a spring visit to Dalin Temple on Mount Lu – a renowned Buddhist monastery traditionally founded by the Jin Dynasty monk Tan Shen. While lowland flowers have already faded by mid-spring (“In the human world, blooms are gone by April”), the poet discovers peach blossoms just beginning to flourish in the cool heights of the mountain temple. 

This simple observation sparks a deeper realization: he had long mourned the passing of spring, thinking it lost forever – only to find it quietly “transferred” to this secluded sanctuary. The poem blends gentle wonder with a quiet spiritual message: beauty and renewal persist in unexpected places, especially where the world is still and sacred.

大林寺桃花
— 白居易

人间四月芳菲尽，

山寺桃花始盛开。

长恨春归无觅处，

不知转入此中来。