Home › Poems › Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin
Shū Hú Yīn Xiān Shēng BìWritten on the Wall of Mr Huyin 书湖阴先生壁
Wang Anshi writes on a friend's wall: a stream circles the green fields.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
茅簷长扫净无苔
máo yán zhǎng sǎo jìng wú tái
花木成畦手自栽
huā mù chéng qí shǒu zì zāi
一水护田将绿绕
yī shuǐ hù tián jiāng lǜ rào
两山排闼送青来
liǎng shān pái tà sòng qīng lái
Simplified characters; traditional title: 書湖陰先生壁.
English translation
Under thatched eaves, swept so often, no moss grows;
flowers and trees in neat beds, planted by his own hand.
A stream guards the fields, wrapping them in green;
two hills push open the door to send in their blue.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
Wang Anshi writes on a friend's wall: a stream circles the green fields. The scene stays with you.
Background
Wang Anshi writes on a friend's wall: a stream circles the green fields.
Key words
- 茅簷 máo yán
- thatch eaves
- 手自 shǒu zì
- with one's own hands
About the poet: Wang Anshi
Wang Anshi was a chief minister of the Northern Song who pushed through the sweeping "New Policies" reforms. Out of office he retired to Nanjing and wrote compact, finely polished quatrains. He is one of the "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song."
Lifetime: 1021–1086. Other famous works: Mooring at Guazhou (泊船瓜洲); Plum Blossoms (梅花); Climbing Feilai Peak (登飞来峰); New Year's Day (元日); Apricot Blossom by the North Pond (北陂杏花); Written on the Wall of Mr Huyin (书湖阴先生壁); Early Summer (初夏即事); At Zhongshan (钟山即事); Night Duty (夜直).
More by Wang Anshi
- Climbing Feilai Peak登飞来峰
- Mooring at Guazhou泊船瓜洲
- Plum Blossoms梅花
- New Year's Day元日
- Apricot Blossom by the North Pond北陂杏花
- Early Summer初夏即事
- At Zhongshan钟山即事
- Night Duty夜直