Tang Dynasty
杳杳寒山道
寒山
杳杳寒山道，
落落冷涧滨。
啾啾常有鸟，
寂寂更无人。
淅淅风吹面，
纷纷雪积身。
朝朝不见日，
岁岁不知春。
Translation
The road to Cold Mountain stretches deep and far; by the cold ravine, all is empty and remote. Only birds cry, twittering again and again; there are no people here, only deeper stillness. Fine winds brush against the face, falling snow gathers upon the body. Morning after morning, the sun is unseen; year after year, spring seems unknown.
Analysis
This poem is characteristic of Hanshan’s mountain poetry, where physical coldness becomes a spiritual condition. The road to Cold Mountain is not merely a path through landscape; it also suggests withdrawal from the human world. The repeated sounds—“yao yao,” “jiu jiu,” “ji ji,” “xi xi,” “fen fen”—shape the poem’s atmosphere through rhythm as much as meaning. Birds call, but no people appear. Wind touches the face, snow gathers on the body. The final couplet turns cold into duration: day after day the sun is unseen, year after year spring seems absent. The poem is bleak, yet it is not simply despairing. Its solitude carries an austere freedom, making Cold Mountain both a real place and a state of mind.
About the Author
Hanshan, or “Cold Mountain,” was a legendary Tang dynasty recluse-poet associated with the Tiantai mountains. His life is obscure, and he is often linked with the figures Shide and Fenggan. Hanshan’s poems are plain, unconventional, and frequently shaped by Buddhist thought, mountain solitude, poverty, and satire of worldly ambition. His work later influenced readers in China, Japan, and the West. “The Road to Cold Mountain” is one of the poems that best captures his austere and solitary poetic world.