chóu酬zhāng张shào少fǔ府

Chóu means to answer someone with a poem. A man surnamed Zhang, a county official, sent Wang Wei a poem or a question, and Wang Wei wrote this poem in reply. Who this Zhang was is no longer known. The poem says "late years", so it was written when Wang Wei was old and lived half as an official and half as a hermit. At that time he had a country house at Wangchuan, below the Zhongnan Mountains, and often lived quietly there.

酬，就是用诗回答别人。一位姓张的少府（县尉）写诗或问话给王维，王维写了这首诗作答。这位张少府是谁，已经不清楚了。诗里说“晚年”，可见是王维年纪大了、半官半隐的时候写的。那时他在终南山下的辋川有一处别墅，常常在那里过安静的生活。

Wang Wei (about 701–761), courtesy name Mojie, was a great Tang poet and painter, and he also knew music well. He was a Buddhist, and his poems often feel quiet and airy, so people called him the Buddha of Poetry. The Song writer Su Shi said there are paintings in his poems and poems in his paintings. In his late years he still held office, but his heart longed for the hills, and this poem shows that feeling.

王维（约701—761），字摩诘，唐代大诗人、画家，也懂音乐。他信佛，诗里常有安静、空灵的味道，人们叫他“诗佛”。宋代的苏轼说他“诗中有画，画中有诗”。他晚年做着官，心却向往山林，这首诗就写出了这种心情。

In the first four lines the poet speaks his mind. He is old, loves only quiet, and no longer cares about the affairs of the world. He has no good plan to offer, so he goes back to the woods. He says it calmly, but there is a little helplessness in it too. Lines five and six are a picture. A breeze comes through the pines and he loosens his sash; the moon shines on him as he plays the qin. Wind, moon and music all feel clean and fresh, and the man is free. The last two lines are the best. His friend asks him the big question of success and failure. He does not answer. He only says, "Listen, a fisherman's song is drifting deep into the cove." It seems to mean: why ask? Just sing freely like the fisherman. The answer is left for the reader to think about.

前四句是诗人自己说心里话：老了，只爱安静，世上的事都不管了；自己也没什么好办法，只好回山林。话说得很平淡，里面其实也有一点无奈。五、六句是一幅画：松林里吹来风，他解开衣带；月亮照着他弹琴。风、月、琴，都清清爽爽，人也自由自在。最后两句最妙：朋友问人生得失的大道理，他不回答，只说“你听，渔歌飘进了水湾深处”。意思好像是：何必问呢？像渔夫一样自在地唱歌就好了。答案留给读的人自己去想。