Nature

I built my hut in a zone of human habitation

by T’ao Ch’ien AD 365–427

Translated by Arthur Waley (1918) · From A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918)

Nature

I built my hut in a zone of human habitation,
Yet near me there sounds no noise of horse or coach.
Would you know how that is possible?
A heart that is distant creates a wilderness round it.
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze long at the distant summer hills.
The mountain air is fresh at the dusk of day:
The flying birds two by two return.
In these things there lies a deep meaning;
Yet when we would express it, words suddenly fail us.

MLA

Ch’ien, T’ao. “I built my hut in a zone of human habitation.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/tao-chien/6/.

Chicago

Ch’ien, T’ao. “I built my hut in a zone of human habitation.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/tao-chien/6/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by T’ao Ch’ien