The Mind
Answering Vice-Prefect Chang
Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu (1929) · From The Jade Mountain (1929)
The Mind
As the years go by, give me but peace,
Freedom from ten thousand matters.
I ask myself and always answer:
What can be better than coming home?
A wind from the pine-trees blows my sash,
And my lute is bright with the mountain moon.
You ask me about good and evil fortune? . . .
Hark, on the lake there's a fisherman singing!
Cite this poem
MLA
Wei, Wang. “Answering Vice-Prefect Chang.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wang-wei/20/.
Chicago
Wei, Wang. “Answering Vice-Prefect Chang.” Translated by Witter Bynner and Kiang Kang-hu. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wang-wei/20/.
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