{"id":5854,"date":"2017-08-04T08:13:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T15:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5854"},"modified":"2017-08-04T08:34:11","modified_gmt":"2017-08-04T15:34:11","slug":"li-bai-you-ask-why-i-make-my-home-in-the-mountain-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/04\/li-bai-you-ask-why-i-make-my-home-in-the-mountain-forest\/","title":{"rendered":"Li Bai – You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest"},"content":{"rendered":"

You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest
\nby Li Bai<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Sam Hamill<\/font><\/p>\n

You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest,
\nand I smile, and am silent,
\nand even my soul remains quiet:
\nit lives in the other world
\nwhich no one owns.
\nThe peach trees blossom,
\nThe water flows.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from Endless River: Li Po and Tu Fu: A Friendship in Poetry<\/a>, Translated by Sam Hamill<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by neil alejandro<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

I thought I\u2019d share a moment of peace\u2026<\/p>\n

I smile, and am silent,
\nand even my soul remains quiet\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

These lines bring me to rest.<\/p>\n

The mind at rest, the entire self at rest, all silt having settled, leaving only quiet clarity. One becomes empty, a spacious, silent witness to the world\u2019s unfolding.<\/p>\n

The peach trees blossom,
\nThe water flows<\/i><\/p>\n

Have a beautiful weekend!<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Li Bai<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nEndless River: Li Po and Tu Fu: A Friendship in Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nLi Pai: 200 Selected Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nA Feast of Lanterns<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Li<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nLi Bai<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

China (701 \u2013 762) Timeline<\/a>
\nTaoist<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Li Po (also transliterated as Li Pai or Li Bai) was raised in Szechwan in western China. He traveled widely throughout China in his life.<\/p>\n

In his 40s, he was appointed to a high academy position by the emperor in recognition of his work, but he was later exiled for political reasons. He then worked in the service of a southern prince who rose up in rebellion. When that prince lost his struggle, Li Po was exiled a second time, but eventually pardoned.<\/p>\n

Li Po\u2019s poetry is particularly known for its elegance. It suggests a certain serene poise in relationship to the world and the quiet mind observing it. <\/p>\n

More poetry by Li Bai<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest by Li Bai English version by Sam Hamill You ask why I make my home in the mountain forest, and I smile, and am silent, and even my soul remains quiet: it lives in the other world which no one owns. The peach trees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[112,231],"class_list":["post-5854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-chinese-poetry","tag-li-bai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5858,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5854\/revisions\/5858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}