Lucai is one of Wang Wei’s famous attractions in Wangchuan. During the Tianbao period of Tang Dynasty, Wang Wei purchased Wangchuan villa at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain. There are 20 scenic spots in Wangchuan. Wang Wei and his friend Pei Di wrote poems for each place and compiled them into "Wangchuan Collection". This poem is the fifth of them.

Lu Chai

Author: Wang Wei

No one can be seen in the empty mountain, but people can hear their voices.

Returning to the deep forest, the light shines on the moss again.

Translation

No one can be seen in the quiet valley, only the sound of people talking can be heard.

The shadow of the setting sun is reflected in the deep forest and shines on the moss in the dark place.

Appreciation

The first sentence, "There are no people in the empty mountain", first describes the empty mountain in front of no one. Wang Wei particularly liked to use the word "empty mountain", but in different poems, the realm it expresses is different. "After the new rain in the empty mountains, the weather comes late in autumn" ("Mountain Dwelling in the Dark Autumn"), which focuses on expressing the clearness and cleanliness of the autumn mountains after the rain; "People are idle and the osmanthus flowers fall, and the night is quiet in the spring sky" ("Birds in the Stream"), which focuses on expressing It is used to express the tranquility and beauty of spring mountains at night; while "empty mountain with no people" focuses on expressing the emptiness and tranquility of the mountain. Because there are no human traces, this mountain, which is not empty, seems empty and void to the poet's feeling, just like an ancient state. "No people in sight" concretizes the meaning of "empty mountain".