Living

On Returning at the Year's End to Chung-nan Mountain

by Meng Hao-jan 689–740

Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu (1929) · From The Jade Mountain (1929)

Living

I petition no more at the north palace-gate.
. . . To this tumble-down hut on Chung-nan Mountain
I was banished for my blunders, by a wise ruler.
I have been sick so long I see none of my friends.
My white hairs hasten my decline,
Like pale beams ending the old year.
Therefore I lie awake and ponder
On the pine-shadowed moonlight in my empty window.

MLA

Hao-jan, Meng. “On Returning at the Year's End to Chung-nan Mountain.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/meng-hao-jan/11/.

Chicago

Hao-jan, Meng. “On Returning at the Year's End to Chung-nan Mountain.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/meng-hao-jan/11/.

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