唐詩
寻隐者不遇
Jia Dao
松下问童子，言师采药去。
只在此山中，云深不知处。
翻訳
Beneath the pine, I ask the boy. He says, “My master has gone to gather herbs. He is only somewhere within this mountain, but the clouds are deep, and I do not know where.”
解説
“Seeking the Recluse but Not Meeting Him” is one of Jia Dao’s most famous five-character quatrains. The poem is built almost entirely from a brief exchange, yet it creates a strong sense of mountain seclusion and quiet longing. The first line sets the scene: the speaker asks a young attendant beneath a pine tree. The pine is not incidental. In classical Chinese poetry, pines often suggest purity, endurance, and reclusion. Before the recluse appears, the setting already carries his spirit. The second line gives the attendant’s answer: the master has gone to gather herbs. This small detail reveals the recluse’s way of life. He is not engaged in worldly business. He lives among mountains, plants, medicine, and self-cultivation. The third line narrows the distance: the recluse is “only within this mountain.” He is not far away. This creates a brief sense of possibility. Perhaps he may still be found. The final line removes that certainty: the clouds are too deep, and no one knows where he is. The recluse is near, yet unreachable. This tension gives the poem its lasting charm. The poem never directly describes the recluse. Instead, it shows him through absence: pine shade, a boy, herb gathering, mountain clouds. Because he is not seen, he becomes more mysterious. His life seems to merge with the depth of the mountain itself. The emotional tone is not dramatic disappointment, but quiet wistfulness. The search fails, yet the failure reveals the very essence of reclusion: the true recluse belongs to a world that cannot be easily found.
作者紹介
Jia Dao, courtesy name Langxian, was a Tang dynasty poet from Fanyang. In his youth he became a Buddhist monk under the name Wuben, but later returned to secular life and pursued the civil service path. He is famous for “bitter chanting,” a style of painstaking poetic composition, and for the well-known anecdote behind the phrase “push and knock,” which refers to careful revision of a single word. His poetry is lean, austere, and quiet, often centered on temples, mountains, reclusion, travel, and solitude. “Seeking the Recluse but Not Meeting Him” is his best-known poem, admired for creating a complete world of hidden mountain life in only twenty characters.