Thanking Master Zhang with a Poem
By Wang Wei
Translated By Susan Wan Dolling
I tend to love quiet now in my evening years,
not caring much about much in the world.
Making no long-term plans, I just keep to myself.
Emptied of knowledge, I have returned to the woods.
A breeze blows through the pines, loosening my robe.
The mountain moon is my lamplight for playing the qin.
You ask for the secret of transcending all worldly matter:
just listen to the fisherman’s song coming down the river.
Translated from the Chinese
Notes:
Audio poem performed by Susan Wan Dolling
Read the Chinese-language original,《酬张少府,》 and the translator’s note by Susan Wan Dolling.
Source: Poetry (September 2023)