Gan Yu - II (Zhang Jiu Ling)

This is from a short series of poems by Zhang Jiu Ling.  The series is called Gan Yu - a phrase impossible to translate succinctly, it means something like feelings encountered along the way.  It is used as a title by Tang poets to indicate poems of a more contemplative nature.

Zhang Jiu Ling was a remarkable figure.  You can read a brief Wikipedia entry about him here which chronicles his adventures as a high ranking government official in the 8th century, maneuvering through a period full of palace intrigue in the years prior to the An Lushan rebellion.  As a high government minister he was apparently held in high regard for his plain spoken honesty.

I find the same quality animates his poems, particularly the Gan Yu series, which I believe may have been written in his later years, after he fell into political disfavor.

Gan Yu – II

The orchid leaf

So lush in spring

And the cassia

With its brilliant

Autumn flowering

The sheer delight

Of the force of life

As each being unfolds

According to scheme

Whoever takes

A forest perch can learn

These simple pleasures

By sitting and listening

To the wind

As grass and trees

In turn show

Their intentions

Revealing what   

Beauty is to man

Before disappearing

感遇其二

蘭葉春葳蕤

桂華秋皎潔

欣欣此生意

自爾為佳節

誰知林棲者

聞風坐相悅

草木有本心

何求美人折

If you enjoyed this poem you can read the next poem in Zhang's Gan Yu series by clicking here.