A Retreat at Zhongnan
終南別業
Zhōngnán bié yè
A walk reaches the end of a stream, becomes cloud-watching, and ends in unhurried conversation. Read the Chinese, pinyin, word meanings, and original English translation.
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About the text and pronunciation
The simplified view changes character forms, not the edition. Notes and sources retain the cited text.
The Chinese source is shown in traditional characters by default, with a simplified view available. Pinyin is modern standard Mandarin, a reading aid, not Tang or Song pronunciation.
Word by word, in the order of the line. A gloss is a crib. It is not the translation.
Word meanings — Line 1
- 中歲 zhōng suì middle age
- 頗 pō quite
- 好 hào be fond of
- 道 dào the Way
Word meanings — Line 2
- 晚 wǎn later in life
- 家 jiā make a home
- 南山 nán shān southern mountains
- 陲 chuí edge
Word meanings — Line 3
- 興來 xìng lái when inspiration comes
- 每 měi often
- 獨往 dú wǎng go alone
Word meanings — Line 4
- 勝事 shèng shì lovely experiences
- 空 kōng only
- 自知 zì zhī know for oneself
Word meanings — Line 5
- 行到 xíng dào walk to
- 水窮 shuǐ qióng water ends
- 處 chù place
Word meanings — Line 6
- 坐看 zuò kàn sit and watch
- 雲起 yún qǐ clouds arise
- 時 shí time
Word meanings — Line 7
- 偶然 ǒu rán by chance
- 值 zhí encounter
- 林叟 lín sǒu old man of the woods
Word meanings — Line 8
- 談笑 tán xiào talk and laugh
- 無 wú without
- 還期 huán qī time for returning
English translation by PoemWell.
Read the whole poem
Original
中歲頗好道，
晚家南山陲。
興來每獨往，
勝事空自知。
行到水窮處，
坐看雲起時。
偶然值林叟，
談笑無還期。
Translation
In middle life I grew fond of the Way;
later I made a home by the southern mountains.
When the impulse comes, I often go alone;
the lovely things I meet are known to me alone.
I walk to where the water comes to an end,
and sit to watch the moment clouds arise.
By chance I meet an old man of the woods;
we talk and laugh, with no set time to return.
Try it from memory
After reading, recall the underlined word or phrase in each line. Say its meaning before opening the answer. These prompts use the text edition printed above.
-
Line 1 · What does the marked word mean?
中歲頗好道，
Pronunciation hint
zhōng suì
Reveal meaning and translation
中歲 — middle age
In middle life I grew fond of the Way;
-
Line 5 · What does the marked word mean?
行到水窮處，
Pronunciation hint
xíng dào
Reveal meaning and translation
行到 — walk to
I walk to where the water comes to an end,
-
Line 8 · What does the marked word mean?
談笑無還期。
Pronunciation hint
tán xiào
Reveal meaning and translation
談笑 — talk and laugh
we talk and laugh, with no set time to return.
One more question: what changes?
Compare the opening and closing lines. What changes in the scene, the speaker’s attention, or the feeling? Choose a Chinese word as evidence, then compare your reading with the notes. More than one answer may be reasonable.
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Line-by-line notes
Lines 1–2 · Making a place to live
中歲 and 晚 tell the story in periods of life. 好 is hào, “be fond of,” and 道 carries a spiritual sense while leaving the speaker's exact commitments open. 家 works as a verb. The English “made a home” makes that action explicit, and 陲 places the home on the edge of the southern mountains.
Lines 3–4 · Setting out as the mood takes him
興 is xìng, a mood or impulse. 來 makes it something that arrives, and 每 gives the walks their recurring character. 勝事 refers to the delights the speaker encounters, while 空自知 reserves the knowledge of them for the speaker. The solitary walk has its own reward.
Lines 5–6 · The walk finds another activity
行到 takes the walker as far as the water's course will let him go. 窮 describes that local ending. The following 坐看 gives him something he can do from the same place. As the water reaches its end, the clouds come into being (起). The English follows the switch from a walk to an interval of watching.
Lines 7–8 · Time with a person met by chance
偶然 makes the encounter unplanned, and 值 is “happen upon.” 林叟 describes the older man by the woods in which they meet. Conversation and laughter fit the freedom the walk already has. 無還期 leaves the return without a set time, just as 興來 gave the departure an occasion without a schedule.
Form and tone
The eight five-character lines pair 行到 with 坐看 and the water’s ending with clouds’ arising. 陲, 知, 時, and 期 are the even-line rhyme words. Its progression is open-ended: the last line declines to set a return time.
See the regulated verse guide for the form. Pinyin gives modern Mandarin pronunciation; no unverified historical tone grid is supplied.
Historical context
別業 is a separate residence or retreat, not a second career. The title locates a way of spending time outside the city. The speaker’s freedom appears in small choices about walking, looking, and conversation.
Continue with Wang Wei or the nature shelf.
Sources
Chinese text compared with 終南別業, public transcription on Wikisource. Punctuation is editorial; the English translation and reading notes are original to PoemWell.
English translation, gloss, and notes by PoemWell. The translation is original to this site.
The Chinese source is shown in traditional characters by default, with a simplified view available. Pinyin is modern standard Mandarin, a reading aid, not Tang or Song pronunciation.
Updated .
Cite this reading
Wang Wei. “A Retreat at Zhongnan” (終南別業). PoemWell. English translation by PoemWell. Updated .
https://poemwell.org/poems/retreat-at-zhongnan
Credit the poet for the Chinese original and PoemWell for this translation and commentary. Use the permanent page link above; source editions are listed separately.