“You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest,and I smile, and am silent,and even my soul remains quiet:it lives in the other worldwhich no one owns.The peach trees blossom,The water flows.”
“Amongst the flowers Iam alone with my pot of winedrinking by myself; then liftingmy cup I asked the moonto drink with me, its reflectionand mine in the wine cup, justthe three of us; then I sighfor the moon cannot drink,and my shadow goes emptily alongwith me never saying a word;with no other friends here, I canbut use these two for company;in the time of happiness, Itoo must be happy with allaround me; I sit and singand it is as if the moonaccompanies me; then if Idance, it is my shadow thatdances along with me; whilestill not drunk, I am gladto make the moon and my shadowinto friends, but then whenI have drunk too much, weall part; yet these arefriends I can always count onthese who have no emotionwhatsoever; I hope that one daywe three will meet again,deep in the Milky Way.”
“We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains.”
“From the east a spring breeze is touching us,passing by,And so in the goblet in the green winetiny ripples are formed.The blossoms stolen by the whirlare falling to the earth.My fair girl will be drunken soonwith her blushed cheeks.Beside the blue pavilion the peach tree -Do you know, how long it will bloom?It’s a trembling shine, a dream:it cheats us and steals away.Rise and dance!The sun is fading!Who never was full of demanding liveand crazy in his young dayswill vainly - when the hairis white - sigh and wail.”
“The birds have vanished into the sky and now the last cloud drains away. We sit together the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains.”
“You ask me why I dwell amidst these jade-green hills? I smile. No words can tell the stillness in my heart. Peach blossoms drift streamwater away deep in mystery. I live in the other world one that lies beyond the human. ”
“On Drinking Alone by Moonlight Here are flowers and here is wine,But where’s a friend with me to joinHand in hand and heart to heartIn one full cup before we part?Rather than to drink alone,I’ll make bold to ask the moonTo condescend to lend her faceThe hour and the scene to grace.Lo, she answers, and she bringsMy shadow on her silver wings;That makes three, and we shall be.I ween, a merry companyThe modest moon declines the cup,But shadow promptly takes it up,And when I dance my shadow fleetKeeps measure with my flying feet.But though the moon declines to tippleShe dances in yon shining ripple,And when I sing, my festive song,The echoes of the moon prolong.Say, when shall we next meet together?Surely not in cloudy weather,For you my boon companions dearCome only when the sky is clear.”