Sunday, February 14, 2010

Fisherman

Chinese calligraphy scholar P. Wong today suggested I read a poem entitled Fisherman, written by Chinese poet LIU ZONGYUAN (773-819).  He is also known as LIU TSUNG-YUAN.

I found Liu's biography here along with fine translations of some of his poems. In his poem Fisherman, Liu's imagery paints a beautiful landscape very similar to the Japanese poem Minase Sangin Hyakuin.  I find Fisherman to be another masterful poem; simple, yet beautiful.

The Fisherman
A fisherman spends the night under West Rock,
pails clear river water and burns bamboo.
Smoke vanishes, sun rises and no one is seen.
The oar-sound turns mountains and water green.
Floating the central current, he turns to gaze at sky
above rock where mindless clouds chase each other.

1 comment:

  1. A very descriptive poem. I would like to have read more of it.
    Bernice

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