This story alludes to Mr. White Stone (白石), a fictional Daoist immortal who boils and eats white stone. He’s a character in Ge Hong (葛洪)’s book, Shen Xian Zhuan (Legend of the Gods). In the poem, Wei Yingwu is comparing an impoverished Daoist priest he knows to Mr. White Stone, only able to afford stones for a meal.
My Translation
| By Wei Yingwu (737-792) | 韋應物 |
| To a Quanjiao Mountain Daoist Priest | 寄全椒山中道士 |
| | |
| This morning, it’s cold in my county office | 今朝 郡齋冷 |
| And suddenly, I reminisce of the mountain resident | 忽念 山中客 |
| Who’s down by a valley creek bundling firewood, bramble | 澗底 束荊薪 |
| And returning home to cook a meal of white stones. | 歸來 煮白石 |
| I want to bring him a ladle of wine | 欲持 一瓢酒 |
| Giving comfort, though faraway, from the evening wind and rain. | 遠慰 風雨夕 |
| Falling leaves cover an empty mountain— | 落葉 滿空山 |
| So where will I go to find his footprints? | 何處 尋行跡 |
Original Chinese
| Traditional | Simplified | Pronunciation |
| | | |
| 韋應物 | 韦应物 | Wéi Yìng Wù |
| 寄全椒山中道士 | 寄全椒山中道士 | Jì quán jiāo shān zhōng dào shi |
| | | |
| 今朝郡齋冷， | 今朝郡斋冷， | Jīn zhāo jùn zhāi lěng, |
| 忽念山中客； | 忽念山中客; | Hū niàn shān zhōng kè; |
| 澗底束荊薪， | 涧底束荆薪， | Jiàn dǐ shù jīng xīn, |
| 歸來煮白石。 | 归来煮白石。 | Guī lái zhǔ bái shí. |
| 欲持一瓢酒， | 欲持一瓢酒， | Yù chí yī piáo jiǔ, |
| 遠慰風雨夕； | 远慰风雨夕; | Yuǎn wèi fēng yǔ xī; |
| 落葉滿空山， | 落叶满空山， | Luò yè mǎn kōng shān, |
| 何處尋行跡。 | 何处寻行迹。 | Hé chù xún xíng jì. |
Literal Notes
| 韋應物 | Tanned-leather Must Thing [=Wei Yingwu (737-792)] |
| 寄全椒山中道士 | Send complete/all pepper hill/mountain inside/middle Dao/principle scholar/knight [complete/all pepper = Quanjiao, an old county in Anhui Province] |
| | [Dao/principle scholar/knight =Daoist priest/hermit] |
| 今朝郡齋冷， | Today morning county building/studio cold/chill [Today morning = now/at present] [county building/studio= county official’s workplace] |
| 忽念山中客； | Suddenly miss hill/mountain inside/middle guest; |
| 澗底束荊薪， | Mountain-stream bottom bundle/bind bramble firewood [Mountain-stream bottom = down in the valley] |
| 歸來煮白石。 | Return come cook white stone/rock [white stone= referred to Mr. White Stone. Here’s the allusion to depict Quanjiao Hermit’s deficient/impoverished life] |
| 欲持一瓢酒， | Want/intend hold one dipper/ladle liquor/wine [dipper/ladle = dipper made by gourd] |
| 遠慰風雨夕； | Faraway comfort/sooth/console wind rain dusk/evening |
| 落葉滿空山， | Falling leave full/fill empty/vacant mountain [falling leaves = dead leaves] |
| 何處尋行跡。 | Where place seek/look-for walk trace/footprint [Where place = Where, whence] [walk trace/footprint = trail ] |
Notes and character tables prepared with the assistance of Liane Rui of Shanghai, China.
Year:
2012
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