xún寻lù陆hóng鸿jiàn渐bú不yù遇

Lu Hongjian is Lu Yu; Hongjian was his courtesy name, a second name used by educated men. He wrote The Classic of Tea, the world's first book about tea, and is honored as the Sage of Tea. Jiaoran was his close friend. Lu Yu later settled around Huzhou. Jiaoran went to visit him but did not find him at home, and wrote this poem. It is usually dated after Lu Yu moved to Huzhou; the exact year is unknown.

陆鸿渐就是陆羽，“鸿渐”是他的字（古人在名字以外取的称呼）。他写了世界上第一部讲茶的书《茶经》，被尊为“茶圣”。皎然是他的好朋友。陆羽后来在湖州一带住下，皎然去拜访他，却没见到人，就写了这首诗。一般认为写于陆羽搬到湖州以后，具体年份不详。

Jiaoran was a Tang poet-monk, a Buddhist monk who wrote poems. His family name was Xie, and he lived for many years in a temple in Huzhou. He knew both poetry and tea, and wrote a book on how to write poems. He and Lu Yu were lifelong friends who often drank tea and wrote poems together.

皎然，唐代的诗僧，也就是会写诗的和尚，俗家姓谢，长期住在湖州的寺庙里。他懂诗也懂茶，写过讲作诗方法的书《诗式》。他和陆羽是一辈子的好朋友，常常一起喝茶写诗。

This poem is about a visit where the friend was not home, yet it does not feel disappointing at all. The poet first shows the house: near the town, but hidden among fields, with chrysanthemums by the fence not yet in bloom, quiet and a little wild. He knocks, and not even a dog barks, so the owner must often be away. He asks a neighbor and learns that his friend goes into the hills every day and comes back only at dusk. The poem never praises Lu Yu directly, yet a hermit who loves nature and does not care about worldly things stands right before us. Not meeting him only makes us want to meet him more.

这首诗写的是一次扑空的拜访，读来却一点也不扫兴。诗人先写朋友的家：离城不远，却藏在桑麻地里，篱笆边种着还没开的菊花，安静又有野趣。他敲门，连狗都不叫，可见主人常常不在家。问邻居，才知道他每天进山，傍晚才回。诗里一句没有夸陆羽，可一个爱自然、不在乎俗事的隐士已经站在我们眼前了。没见到人，反而更让人想见他。