Missing My Friend Xin-Da at the South Pavilion in Summer

Author: Meng, Haoran (689 or 691—740)

The sun abruptly sets behind the mountains;

The moon gradually rises from the pond.

I let my hair loose to feel the cooling air

And open my windows for a cool night’s sleep of which I am fond.

Breezes bring in a sweet scent of lotus flowers now and then;

Dews drop from bamboo groves with a clear rhythm tick by tick.

I wish to play my zither

But regret that no one here understands my music.

This reminds me of my dear old friend.

I think of him all night, feeling heartsick.

This summer is really hot, isn’t it? During your sweaty days, how about enjoy a piece of poem to get cool? Today we are going to read a poem wrote by Meng Haoran. A descendant of the famous Confucian Meng Zi, Meng is one of the so-called “landscape poets (山水田园诗人)” in Chinese history for the recurring theme of country life in his poetry. Like other educated men of the Tang Dynasty, he went to the capital Chang-An to take the imperial court’s civil service exam, but failed. He returned home, and led a peaceful life until dying of allergies.

Copyright: A Poetic Portal To Chinese Culture, China Pictorial Press

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