The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

26

Your writing and judgment are not at all poor,
so I wonder why you didn’t pass the official exam.
The examiners may have been twisted or perverse
to rinse off your dirt, seeking sores and scars.
This must be your destiny.
Try again this winter.
Even if a blind person shoots at a sparrow’s eye,
an accidental hit is not impossible!

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The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

25

When Dong was young,
he used to visit the imperial palace
in a jacket made of yellow duckling feathers,
so he resembled a painting.
He always rode on a horse with white hooves
that kicked up the red dust.
Onlookers packed the roadside,
wondering whose child he could be.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

24

As a youth, I carried scriptures and a hoe,
while living with my brother’s family.
But others made accusations
and even my own wife turned her back.
So I left the dusty world
to live idly, reading books.
Who can offer a bucketful of water
to rescue this fish from its cart track puddle?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

23

When I think back on my young days,
I used to hunt at the imperial field.
Not wanting to be a national envoy,
and saying that being an immortal wasn’t good enough,
I’d gallop astride my white horse,
shouting at rabbits and letting my green hawk fly.
Without realizing it, I took a great plunge.
Could anyone see my white hair now and feel pity?

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Are people just out there editing wikis, slinging death threats around?

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

22

The wife is too lazy to weave at the loom,
the husband too slothful to plow for rice.
He enjoys hunting with his arrows and bow,
while she shuffles around, strumming her lute.
When freezing to the bone, get covered up fast,
to have a full belly, eat some food first.
Who would care about you now
if you suffer and wail to the heavens?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

21

In spring, a woman dresses up
to stroll with other women down a southern road.
She enjoys the flowers, but dreads day’s turn into night,
and shelters behind a tree, afraid of the blowing wind.
A young man from nearby approaches
on a white horse with a golden bridle.
Why do they dally together so long?
At home, her husband knows.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

20

Girls call to each other while gathering lotus blossoms—
what a lovely pure river village!
They play and play, not noticing the dusk,
or the crazy winds that often come up.
Rising waves lift the ducklings,
large ducks sway in the eddies.
Paddling idly here in a boat,
this vast gentle feeling may never end.

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