běi北qīng青luó萝

In this poem the poet climbs a hill at dusk to visit a monk who lives alone. Where North Green Vine was is not agreed. One view puts it near Mount Wangwu; as a young man Li Shangyin studied Daoism on nearby Mount Yuyang. The year is not known either. The poet stays at the monk's hut until dark, listens to the chime, and suddenly feels his heart grow calm. Then he writes this poem.

这首诗写诗人在傍晚上山，拜访一位独居的僧人。北青萝在哪里，说法不一。一说在王屋山一带，李商隐年轻时曾在那附近的玉阳山学道。诗写于哪一年，也不清楚。诗人在僧人的茅屋里待到天黑，听着磬声，心里忽然平静下来，写下了这首诗。

Li Shangyin (about 813–about 858) was a great late Tang poet, named together with Du Mu as the "Little Li and Du". All his life he was caught in fights between two factions at court, so his career went badly and he was often unhappy. Most of his poems are veiled and full of feeling, but this one about visiting a monk is plain and calm.

李商隐（约813—约858），晚唐大诗人，和杜牧并称“小李杜”。他一生卷在朝廷两派的争斗里，做官很不顺，心里常常苦闷。他的诗大多写得含蓄深情，这首写访僧的诗却很清淡。

This poem is like a slow walk deep into the hills. The first line is dusk, with the sun going down. The second says why he has come: to see a lone monk. Lines three and four are about searching. Fallen leaves cover the ground, no one is in sight, there are only cold clouds and a winding path. The monk is not described, yet we feel how far away and how peaceful his home is. Only lines five and six show the monk. Night has come, he strikes the chime alone, then leans calmly on his staff. The last two lines are what the poet comes to see. The whole world is as small as a speck of dust, so what is there to love or hate? He usually has many worries, but in this moment he seems to let them all go.

这首诗像一次慢慢走进山里的旅程。第一句是傍晚，太阳落山；第二句说明来意，要去看一位孤僧。三四句写找人：满地落叶，不见人影，只有寒云和弯弯的山路。这里没有直接写僧人，却让人感到他住得多么偏远、多么清静。五六句才写到僧人：天黑了，他一个人敲磬，又闲闲地靠着藤杖。最后两句是诗人的领悟：整个世界都小得像一粒灰尘，我还有什么好爱、好恨的呢？他平时有很多烦恼，在这一刻好像都放下了。