Du Fu: Gaze Into the Distance at the Five Sacred Mountains

Du Fu: Gaze Into the Distance at the Five Sacred Mountains

望 岳

岱 宗 夫 如 何？
齐 鲁 青 未 了。
造 化 钟 神 秀
阴 阳 割 昏 晓 。

荡 胸 生 层 云
决 眦 入 归 鸟。
会 当 凌 绝 顶
一 览 众 山 小。

Wang Yue

Dai zong fu ru he?
Qi lu qing wei liao
Zao hua zhong shen xiu
Yin yang ge hun xiao.

Dang xiong sheng ceng yun
Jue zi ru gui niao
Hui dang ling jue ding
Yi lan zhong shan xiao.

Gaze Into the Distance at the Five Sacred Mountains

What does one think of the eternal Mt. Tai?
From Qi to Lu, green colors without limits
Only deities and Nature can create such elegance
At daybreak one mountainside bright and sunny, the other side in dark       shadows, at dusk they trade light and dark like the yin and yang.

Mind-heart emerges, clearing away the overlapping clouds
Out of the corner of my eye, birds come together to enter the mountains
Later I will tower aloft from the highest peak
With one look, numerous small mountains down below.

Notes:

Five Sacred Mountains: Mt. Tai-Mt. Hua-Mt. Heng (south)-Mt. Heng (north)-Mt. Song

Mt. Tai: located in western Shandong Province and the eastern most of the Five Sacred mountains of China

Qi to Lu: both were states within the Zhou kingdom and dynasty. Qi existed from 1046-221 BC and Lu from 1042-249 BC. Both were in the current province of Shandong.

Yin-Yang: Ancient Chinese philosophy, science, medicine, and martial arts.