Hanshan 11 (The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan)
The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan
Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt
Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century
11
A handsome young man on a horse
swings his whip and points to the pleasure quarter,
saying, “I will never die.”
He has not yet taken a journey.
As the four seasons change, he enjoys flowers,
but one day they all will wither and yellow.
He can’t taste the finest cream and honey
until the day he dies.
Yeah for sure, I prefer his more non-silly poems usually :) Have you read the Red Pine translations of Hanshan? I have Tanahashi's translations as well, but I tend to like reading Red Pine's translation a bit more
Do it! If you're at all curious about Chinese poetry aside from Hanshan, and about Chinese hermits, I definitely recommend watching this amazing biopic of Red Pine as well which is available until the end of October for a small sum (definitely worth it): https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/redpine