Tang Dynasty
Inscribed at the Meditation Courtyard Behind Poshan Temple
Chang Jian
清晨入古寺，初日照高林。
曲径通幽处，禅房花木深。
山光悦鸟性，潭影空人心。
万籁此都寂，但余钟磬音。
Translation
At dawn I enter the ancient temple; the first sunlight shines on the tall woods. A winding path leads to a secluded place, where the meditation rooms lie deep among flowers and trees. Mountain light delights the nature of birds; the pond's reflection empties the human heart. All sounds of the world fall silent here; only the tones of bells and stone chimes remain.
Analysis
"Inscribed at the Meditation Courtyard Behind Poshan Temple" is Chang Jian's most famous poem. It describes a morning visit to a Buddhist temple, but its deeper movement is spiritual: the speaker passes from outer scenery into inner stillness. The opening couplet establishes time and atmosphere. The poet enters an ancient temple in the clear morning, as the first sun lights the tall woods. The setting is quiet, fresh, and solemn. Dawn matters here because it suggests the beginning of both day and inner clarity. The second couplet is the best-known part of the poem. A winding path leads into a secluded place, and the meditation rooms are hidden deep among flowers and trees. The "winding path" is important. The poem suggests that one does not enter quietness directly. One approaches it gradually, through turns, depth, and retreat from noise. The third couplet moves from landscape to mind. Mountain light delights the birds, while the pond's reflection empties the human heart. The birds are naturally at ease in their own nature; the human mind, looking into the clear pond, becomes free of worldly thoughts. The line carries Buddhist resonance without preaching doctrine. The final couplet uses sound to express silence. All the many noises of the world seem stilled, and only the temple bells and chimes remain. This is not absolute silence; it is a silence made deeper by one lingering sacred sound. The poem's structure is elegant: entering the temple, following the path, reaching the meditation courtyard, experiencing mountain light and pond reflection, and finally resting in bell-sound and stillness. Its power lies in making spiritual calm arise naturally from place, light, water, and sound.
About the Author
Chang Jian was a Tang dynasty poet from Chang'an, active during the High Tang period. He passed the imperial examination but did not achieve great official prominence, and he later lived a life associated with travel and reclusion. Few of his poems survive, but they are known for quietness, clarity, and a refined feeling for mountains, temples, and retreat. "Inscribed at the Meditation Courtyard Behind Poshan Temple" is his representative work and one of the classic Tang poems of landscape and Buddhist stillness. The couplet "A winding path leads to a secluded place; the meditation rooms lie deep among flowers and trees" became especially famous.