Xīn Yí WùMagnolia Bank 辛夷坞
Wang Wei on magnolia by a mountain stream, blooming and falling unseen.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
木末芙蓉花
mù mò fú róng huā
山中发红萼
shān zhōng fā hóng è
涧戸寂无人
jiàn hù jì wú rén
纷纷开且落
fēn fēn kāi qiě luò
Simplified characters; traditional title: 辛夷塢.
English translation
At the tips of the branches, lotus-like magnolias
put out red buds in the mountains.
By the stream the hut is silent, no one there;
one after another they bloom and fall.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Wang Wei on magnolia by a mountain stream, blooming and falling unseen. The scene stays with you.
Background
Wang Wei on magnolia by a mountain stream, blooming and falling unseen.
Key words
- 木末 mù mò
- treetops; the tips of trees
- 芙蓉 fú róng
- lotus; hibiscus (furong)
- 山中 shān zhōng
- in the mountains
About the poet: Wang Wei
Wang Wei was a poet, painter, musician and court official. A devout Buddhist, he wrote spare, luminous landscape verse; later critics said there is "a painting in his poems and a poem in his paintings." He is sometimes called the "Buddha of Poetry."
Lifetime: c. 699–761. Other famous works: Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home) (杂诗); Farewell (Dismounting to Drink) (送别); Autumn Evening in the Mountains (山居秋暝); Longing (相思); Deer Park (鹿柴); Bamboo Grove Retreat (竹里馆); Farewell to Yuan the Second on His Mission to Anxi (送元二使安西); Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth (九月九日忆山东兄弟); Birdsong in the Ravine (鸟鸣涧); Joys of the Countryside (田园乐); Floating on the Han River (汉江临泛); In the Mountains (山中); Farewell in the Mountains (山中送别); Long Rain at Wangchuan (积雨辋川庄作); Magnolia Bank (辛夷坞); Seeing Off Shen Zifu (送沈子福之江东); Reply to Vice-Prefect Zhang (酬张少府); A Quiet Matter (书事); Song of Youth (少年行); My Retreat at Zhongnan (终南别业); Seeing Off Prefect Li of Zizhou (送梓州李使君).
More by Wang Wei
- Farewell to Yuan Er on His Mission to Anxi送元二使安西
- Deer Park鹿柴
- Bamboo Grove Retreat竹里馆
- Thinking of My Brothers on the Double Ninth九月九日忆山东兄弟
- Farewell (Dismounting to Drink)送别
- Autumn Evening in the Mountains山居秋暝
- Longing相思
- Miscellaneous Poem (You Have Come from Home)杂诗