ChineseStudy

122. Looking for the Daoist Chang of the South Stream and Not Finding Him | Liu Changqing

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English translation

In the places passed along the way, traces of clogs remain on the moss.

The title is "Seeking," and the first line already writes the process of seeking. The "clog traces" are human traces, showing that this path is often walked.

White clouds rest by the quiet islet; spring grass grows and seals the idle door.

The word "close" means the grass sealing the door, not a person closing it: the Daoist temple is quiet, and no one has come for a long time.

After the rain, I look at the color of the pines; following the mountain, I go all the way to the source of the stream.

"Past rain" means the rain has just stopped. "Following the mountain" means not doing anything deliberate, going along with the mountain. These two lines describe wandering after the search for the person fails; the pace loosens.

The flowers by the stream and this Zen meaning face each other, and one forgets what to say.

"Forgetting words" comes from Tao Yuanming: "There is true meaning in this; wishing to explain it, I have forgotten the words." The man was not found, but something else was gained.

赏析 · Commentary

寻人不遇，诗却更完整 · A Failed Errand That Completes the Poem

常道士不在，这首诗的效果反而更好。四联的次序是一次转身：先去寻人（见屐痕），再看见门被封住（知道人不在），于是改为看景（松色、水源），最后坐下来对着溪花，连话也不想说了。寻而不遇原本是个落空的事，被处理成一次意外的收获。唐诗里这类「不遇」的诗不少，好在都写在转身之后。

The Daoist Chang is out, and the poem is better for it. The four couplets turn once: first the search (clog prints), then the sealed door (he is not in), then a shift to scenery (pine colour, the spring's source), and at last sitting before the stream flowers with nothing left to say. An errand that fails is turned into an unplanned gain. Tang verse has many "not at home" poems, and their strength lies in what happens after the turn.

从「屐痕」到「忘言」 · From Clog Prints to Forgetting Words

第一句的屐痕是人留下的痕迹，末句的忘言是连话都不需要了，中间跨过的是整个寻找的过程。刘长卿把这两端放在一起，实际写的是一个人怎样从「找人」变成「不用找了」。全诗没有一个字说自己心情好转，但「随」字和「忘」字已经把变化说清楚。

The clog prints in the first line are a trace a person left; the forgetting of words in the last is needing no words at all, and what lies between is the entire search. Placing the two ends together, Liu Changqing is really writing how a man stops looking. Not one word reports a change of mood, but "following" and "forgetting" have already said it.

「闭」字是这首诗的转折点 · "Close": The Poem's Turning Point

第二联的「春草闭闲门」是全诗的枢纽。一个「闭」字告诉读者人不在，同时也描绘了一处很久没人打理的院子。如果这里写成「叩门无人应」，诗就停在挫折上；写成草把门封了，挫折就变成了处境，可以继续看下去。用景物承担情节，是唐诗省字的一个办法。

"Spring grass closes the idle door" is the pivot. The one word "close" tells the reader no one is in, and at the same time draws a courtyard long untended. Had it read "I knocked and no one answered," the poem would stop at frustration; with the grass sealing the door, frustration becomes a situation one can keep looking at. Letting scenery carry plot is one way Tang verse saves words.

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