seclusion

  • The Analects – Chapter 18.5

    A Chu hermit Jieyu sang a phoenix ballad to warn Confucius of perilous politics and urged retreat. Confucius stepped down to talk yet was avoided. It contrasts the hermit’s seclusion mindset with Confucius’ persistent, compassionate commitment to saving the world.

  • Biographies of Noble Scholars (Recluses)

    Huangfu Mi (215–282 CE), courtesy name Shi’an and courtesy title Xuan Yan Xiansheng (Master Xuan Yan), was a renowned scholar, writer, and physician in ancient China who lived through the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms Period, and the early Western Jin Dynasty. Though widely celebrated as the “father of acupuncture” for his…

  • The Bamboo Hut [Tang Poems]

    –Wang Wei Alone I sit among the quiet bamboos, Carefreely I play on lute and croon. Deep in the woods, no human soul doth know my stay, Only the bright moon comes to shed its gentle ray.

  • The Blue Stream [Tang Poems]

    — Wang Wei I follow the Blue Rill To the Stream of Yellow Blooms. It winds from hill to hill Till far away it looms. It roars amid pebbles white And calms down under pines green. Weeds float on ripples light, Reeds mirrored like a screen. Mind’s carefree, alone; The clear stream flows with…