232 t He tang Dy na s t y
succeeded. Others, however, found his writing ostentatious, undisciplined, and
altogether too full of fantastic imagery to be considered authentic at all, let alone
ancient. Although he wrote many poems in the regulated style, a common refrain
among critics is that his nature was too unrestrained and unfettered to conform
to the strict requirements of regulated verse. In a word, he is not usually one to
depict himself weeping; but, as declared by one of his contemporaries, his poetry
could “make the spirits weep and the ghosts shed tears.” “A Lu Mountain Tune:
Sent to Minister Lu Xuzhou,” inspired by a site that has always carried the traces
of the spirits, is precisely the type of poem that earned him his reputation. It richly
rewards the reader who is willing to penetrate past its dazzling surface and attend
to its subtler details.C 1 1. 3
A Lu Mountain Tune: Sent to Minister Lu Xuzhou 廬山謠寄廬侍御虛舟
(lú shān yáo jì lú shì yù xū zhōu)It is I, the original madman of Chu, 我本楚狂人 (wŏ bĕn chŭ kuáng rén)
2 Singing “The Phoenix,” laughing at Confucius. 鳳歌笑孔丘 (fèng gē xiào kŏng qiū)
One hand gripping the green jade staff, 手持綠玉杖 (shŏu chí lǜ yù zhàng)
4 I depart Yellow Crane Pavilion at dawn. 朝別黃鶴樓 (zhāo bié huáng hè lóu)
Seeking transcendents among the Five
Mountains, I am not daunted by distance,8 五嶽尋仙不辭遠 (wŭyuè xún xiān bù cí yuăn)
6 All my life I’ve loved to wander in famous
mountains. 一生好入名山遊 (yì shēng hào rù míng shān yóu)
Lu Mountain blossoms beside the Southern
Dipper, 廬山秀出南斗傍 (lú shān xiù chū nán dŏu páng)
8 The Nine Folds of Windscreen Mountain—
a bolt of cloud embroidery, 屏風九疊雲錦張 (píng fēng jiŭ dié yún jĭn zhāng)
And shadows fall on the shining lake in inky-
green light. 影落明湖青黛光 (yĭng luò míng hú qīng dài guāng)
10 Golden Portico opens ahead—two peaks
stretching long, 金闕前開二峰長 (jīn quē qián kāi èr fēng cháng)
Silver River hangs upside down from Three-
Stone Bridge.9^ 銀河倒挂三石梁 (yín hé dào guà sān shí liáng)
12 Gazing in the distance—Incense Burner
Waterfall,10^ 香爐瀑布遙相望 (xiāng lú pù bù yáo xiāng wàng)
Far-off cliffs and layered palisades rising up
into the blue. 迥崖沓嶂淩蒼蒼 (jiŏng yá tà zhāng líng cāng cāng)
14 Iridescent green shadows, red dawn clouds,
reflecting morning sun, 翠影紅霞映朝日 (cuì yĭng hóng xiá yìng zhāo rì)
Even birds cannot fly the length of the sky of
Wu. 鳥飛不到吳天長 (niăo fēi bú dào wú tiān cháng)
16 I climb on high, behold the stirring sights
between heaven and earth, 登高壯觀天地間 (dēng gāo zhuàng guān tiān dì jiān)