sòng送shàng上rén人

Shàng rén is a polite word for a monk, and fāng wài means beyond the ordinary world. Liu Changqing wrote this poem to see off a monk heading far away. It uses an old story: the Eastern Jin monk Zhi Dun once tried to buy a mountain to live in retreat, and the owner laughed that true hermits of old never needed to buy a mountain first. Liu uses the story to tease his friend kindly. When it was written and who the monk was are not known.

上人是对僧人的尊称，方外是指世俗之外。刘长卿送一位僧人去远方，写下这首诗。诗里用了一个典故：东晋高僧支遁想向别人买山来隐居，对方笑他说，没听说古代真正的隐士要花钱买山才去隐居的。刘长卿借这个故事，和朋友开了一个善意的玩笑。这首诗写于何时、送的是哪位僧人，都不清楚。

Liu Changqing, also called Wenfang, was a Tang poet. Sources differ on his dates; he lived in the eighth century. He was best at five-character poems and called himself the Great Wall of five-character verse, meaning his poems were as solid as the Great Wall. He was demoted twice in his career, often felt lonely and let down, and liked to spend time with monks and hermits.

刘长卿，字文房，唐代诗人，生卒年说法不一，大约生活在八世纪。他最擅长写五言诗，自称“五言长城”，意思是自己的五言诗像长城一样坚固。他做官时两次被贬，心里常有失意和孤独，喜欢和僧人、隐士来往。

The first line compares the monk to a lone cloud and a wild crane. A cloud drifts freely, a crane flies freely, and no one can hold them. Such a person would never live in a busy place. The last two lines suddenly turn into a friendly joke: don't go and buy Wozhou Mountain, it is too famous; everyone knows it, so how could it be quiet? The deeper meaning is that true retreat is not about a famous mountain but about a free heart. The poem holds a farewell, some praise, and a little humor, so it feels light yet full of flavor.

第一句把僧人比作孤云和野鹤。云自由地飘，鹤自由地飞，谁也管不住。这样的人，当然不会住在热闹的地方。后两句忽然一转，像朋友之间的玩笑：你可别去买沃洲山啊，那里太有名了，人人都知道，哪里还清静？言外之意是：真正的隐居不在于山有多出名，而在于心是否自由。诗里有送别，有赞美，也有一点幽默，读起来轻松又有味道。