Home › Poems › Question and Answer in the Mountains
Shān Zhōng Wèn DáQuestion and Answer in the Mountains 山中问答
Li Bai's smiling answer to why he lives in the mountains.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
问余何意栖碧山
wèn yú hé yì qī bì shān
笑而不答心自闲
xiào ér bù dá xīn zì xián
桃花流水窅然去
táo huā liú shuǐ yǎo rán qù
别有天地非人间
bié yǒu tiān dì fēi rén jiān
Simplified characters; traditional title: 山中問答.
English translation
I dwell among green hills and someone asks me why;
My mind carefree, I smile and give him no reply.
Peach blossoms fallen on running water pass by—
This is an earthly paradise beneath the sky.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
The question is ordinary, the reply is a smile. Li Bai's silence is his answer: the reason cannot be put into words. The third line evokes Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring, the hidden paradise reached by following petals on a stream, so the mountains become a world apart. The mix of seven-character rhythm and almost conversational tone is typical of Li Bai's ease.
Background
Also titled 山中答俗人. Probably written while Li Bai lived in the Bishan hills of Anlu (Hubei) in his twenties.
Key words
- 碧山 bì shān
- green mountains
- 窅然 yǎo rán
- far away, out of sight
- 人间 rén jiān
- the human world
About the poet: Li Bai
Li Bai (also romanized Li Po; courtesy name Taibai) is celebrated as the "Immortal of Poetry." Raised in Sichuan, he spent much of his life wandering, briefly served at the court of Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an, and is remembered for his love of wine, the moon and untamed nature. He and Du Fu are regarded as the two greatest poets of the Tang dynasty.
Lifetime: 701–762. Other famous works: Farewell to a Friend (送友人); Song of Qiupu (White Hair) (秋浦歌); Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn) (子夜吴歌); Question and Answer in the Mountains (山中问答); For Wang Lun (赠汪伦); The Road Is Hard (行路难); Sitting Alone Facing Jingting Mountain (独坐敬亭山); Written as a Traveler (客中作); Song of the Moon over Mount Emei (峨眉山月歌); Resentment (怨情); Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵); Quiet Night Thoughts (静夜思); Bring In the Wine (将进酒); Drinking Alone Under the Moon (月下独酌); Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu (望庐山瀑布); Leaving Baidi City at Dawn (早发白帝城); The Hard Road to Shu (蜀道难).
Names from this poem
More by Li Bai
- Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思
- Farewell to Meng Haoran at Yellow Crane Tower黄鹤楼送孟浩然之广陵
- Leaving Baidi City at Dawn早发白帝城
- Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu望庐山瀑布
- Drinking Alone Under the Moon月下独酌
- Midnight Song of Wu (Autumn)子夜吴歌
- Song of the Moon over Mount Emei峨眉山月歌
- Song of Qiupu (White Hair)秋浦歌