鹿柴
lù zhài
Deer Enclosure
王维 (Wang Wei) · Tang Dynasty · 701–761
Original Text
空山不见人，
kōng shān bú jiàn rén,
但闻人语响。
dàn wén rén yǔ xiǎng.
返景入深林，
fǎn jǐng rù shēn lín,
复照青苔上。
fù zhào qīng tái shàng.
English Translation
In the empty mountains, no one can be seen — yet voices echo from somewhere. Returning sunlight enters the deep forest and shines again upon the green moss.
Historical Background
This is one of twenty poems in Wang Wei's "Wang River Collection" (辋川集), describing scenes around his country estate in the Zhongnan Mountains near Chang'an. The Deer Enclosure was a specific location on the property. Wang Wei composed these poems during periods of retreat from official life, deeply influenced by Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
Literary Analysis
This poem is a masterclass in creating atmosphere through absence. The "empty mountain" with unseen voices creates a paradox — the emptiness is not truly empty. The shaft of sunlight entering the deep forest illuminates only moss, suggesting how rarely light (or people) penetrate this place. The poem embodies the Zen concept of finding profound presence within apparent emptiness.
Details
Form
Five-character Quatrain (五言绝句)
Theme
Nature & Landscape
About Wang Wei (王维)
Wang Wei was a Tang Dynasty poet, musician, painter, and statesman known as the "Poet-Buddha" (诗佛) for the Zen Buddhist sensibility in his work. His nature poetry achieves a meditative stillness that has been compared to traditional Chinese landscape painting. He is considered one of the greatest landscape poets in Chinese literature.
2 poems by Wang Wei in our collection
Traditional Chinese
空山不見人，但聞人語響。返景入深林，復照青苔上。