[audio:http://www.chinesetolearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Click-here-to-listen-to-the-poem2.mp3|titles=Click here to listen to the poem]
竹里館
Zhu2 Li3 Guan3
Lodge in the Bamboo Grove
王維
Wang2 Wei2
獨坐幽篁里，
Du2 zuo4 you1 huang2 li3,
Alone I sat within deep and quite bamboo grove, (note 1)
彈琴復長嘯；
tan2 qin2 fu4 chang2 xiao4;
While plucked the zither, I also uttered long resounding sound, (note 2)
深林人不知，
shen1 lin2 ren2 bu4 zhi1,
Deep in the forest, people did not know my existence,
明月來相照。
ming2 yue4 lai2 xiang1 zhao4.
Bright moon came shining on me.
Notes:
1.幽篁 you1 huang2, means 幽深的竹林 deep and quite bamboo grove. You1 also has secluded meaning. The allusion comes from Songs of Chu — 《楚辞·九歌·山鬼》：“余处幽篁兮终不见天。Ah, I stayed in the deep and quite bamboo, all day I did not see the sky.”
2. For 长啸, there are three definitions.
(1). Loudly shouting (大声呼叫 Da4 sheng1 hu1 jiao4)。Examples of usage can be found in 汉 司马相如 《上林赋》：“长啸哀鸣，翩幡互经。” 宋 岳飞 《满江红·写怀》词：“抬望眼、仰天长啸，壮怀激烈。” 许地山 《空山灵雨·生》：“它在竹林里长着的时候，许多好鸟歌唱给它听，许多猛兽长啸给它听。”
(2). Round the mouth to utter long and pure sound. Ancient Chinese people used sounding this way to state their will and determination. 撮口发出悠长清越的声音。古人常以此述志。This usage can be found in 三国 魏 曹植 《美女篇》：“顾盼遗光采，长啸气若兰。” 唐 牛僧孺 《玄怪录·张左》：“向闻长啸月下，韵甚清激，私心奉慕，愿接清论。” 宋 苏轼 《和林子中待制》：“早晚 渊明 赋《归去》，浩歌长啸老 斜川 。”《群音类选·四节记·复游赤壁》：“长啸若轻狂，振山林谷应如璜。”
(3). Another name for bells. 钟之别名。 唐 冯贽 《南部烟花记·乐器名》：“鐘，一名为长啸。”
In this poem, it seems more suitable to use the second definition, and consider 长啸 as uttering long and clear sounds to express what the poet had in mind.
Some use whistling as the word for 啸, but I don’t think it is a good translation. Whistling is way too cheerful and too shrilly too. 啸 is more like you try to make an echo with your resounding voice to get the sound to the far away place. Pretend that you are making the ooooooooooooooo sound or aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa sound. The sound doesn’t come just through your mouth or your vocal cord; it comes from your belly. Pretend that you are a soprano uttering some notes of sound with deeply resonance through your inner strength.
Some translated the 啸 as singing, it doesn’t sound right to me either. If a female professional singer made this poem, then it is possible that she was playing the zither while singing her favorite song at the same time to entertain her audience. However, for a man, a statesman like Wang Wei, it seems kind of funny to think that he was making the mellow singing in the bamboo grove.
Besides, 啸 this word is nothing mellow at all. It is used to associate with the phrase 虎啸猿啼 ( hu3 xiao4 yuan2 ti2, tigers roar and monkeys cry) or 龙吟虎啸 (long2 yin2 hu3 xiao4, dragons singing and tigers roaring).
Therefore, 啸 is an utterance of sound through 丹田 Tan1 Tien2; in Chinese 气功 qigong, tan tien is translated as the “elixir field,” also it is the place where the body stores its energy. Dan tian refers to the lower abdomen area, below the navel and about one-third of the way in the abdominal cavity.
Poem analysis:
竹里館 Zhu li guan is one of his 20 poems in 辋川集 Wang3 Chuan1 Ji2 ( Wang Chuan Collection). Wang Chuan was one of Wang Wei’s favorite retreats. In this poem, Wang Wei wrote one of his Wang Chuan experiences — all alone in a bamboo grove.
The first line
獨坐幽篁里，
Du2 zuo4 you1 huang2 li3,
Alone I sat within deep and quite bamboo grove, (note 1)
To begin with, let’s figure out why he wanted to sit within a bamboo forest alone?
The reasons can be:
1. He loved bamboo as much as pandas do. Wang Wei loved to watch the bamboo, while the pandas love to eat them.
2. He felt sad and needed to be alone in a secluded place to cry or to let out some depressing thought?
3. He was an adventurer and photographer that wanted to take some unique photo shots with his artist mind?
4. He was practicing 气功 qi gong? So that he needed fresh air to breathe in?
The possibilities can be many… For now, we only know that he was all alone by himself — alone and lonely. We need more clues, so read on …
The second line
彈琴復長嘯；
tan2 qin2 fu4 chang2 xiao4;
While plucked the zither, I also uttered long and clear resounding sound, (note 2)
Why Wang Wei was playing the zither alone in the bamboo forest and making some resounding sound with his mouth at the same time?
Do you like playing piano? If you love playing piano very much or you are a piano major student who is going to have the final exam on playing some music pieces, you might carry your piano to your summer retreat or rent one there. Does Wang Wei like to play zither? Yes, surely he did. Otherwise he could have written some other things, like jogging, cutting bamboo, or observing pandas if they had some there. Therefore, we can tell that Wang Wei was a versatile person who was also an expert at playing musical instrument. The next question is why he had to make the long sound — 長嘯? For he was so happy, so joyful that he needed to whistle away while playing his zither? I heard a lot of good music playing before, however, I never saw one or heard one that was whistling long and repeatedly while playing the instrument though. So, for me, whistling is not a choice for the word 嘯 as some other translators of the poem used.
How about translating it as singing as some other did? It is highly musical to playing and singing beautiful songs. However, as I said in the note 2, 啸 this word is nothing mellow at all. It is used to associate with the howling or roaring of tigers as in the phrase 虎啸猿啼 ( hu3 xiao4 yuan2 ti2, tigers roar and monkeys cry) or 龙吟虎啸 (long2 yin2 hu3 xiao4, dragons singing and tigers roaring). Thus, for Wang Wei, I would like to translate 啸 as uttering resounding long sound from within the body and not just from mouth. The purpose of making the long sound is to do with channeling out the depressing or whatever feeling he had at the moment.
The third line
深林人不知，
shen1 lin2 ren2 bu4 zhi1,
Deep in the forest, people did not know my existence,
深 Shen1 means deep; it refers to this forest or grove was not near a city or a bustling town but somewhere secluded. Thus, when Wang Wei advanced to the quiet and deep bamboo forest, he knew that that place was not likely to have human beings dwelt within. Hence, within the forest there was no one except himself, and those people outside of the bamboo were clueless to know the great poet and statesman was inside the forest, unless Wang Wei got implanted a microchip inside his leg? Therefore, he was all alone in that green, fresh world of his choice, without the hustling, noisy and turmoil of the regular mundane.
The fourth line
明月來相照。
ming2 yue4 lai2 xiang1 zhao4.
Bright moon came shining on me.
The last line told us, Wang Wei was not totally alone too, for he got a beaming bright buddy from the heaven. The moon who shined on him with silver light and the gentleness. Moon is a mysterious company; she usually appears unless there is a stormy cloud blocks her way, otherwise she usually becomes lonely man’s best listening friend.
Wang Wei did love company — that is why we can tell that he was happy when the none human buddy (the moon) came to shine on him.
Who doesn’t love company? Why Wang Wei ran away from the human companies he had and sat lonely within the bamboo forest and played his zither and also from time to time uttered some long sound? The reasons can be:
He got stressed and needed to come to a secluded place to let out his depressed emotion, or he just wanted to experience the life that a recluse has — somewhere deep in the remote mountain or he just wanted to come to that bamboo forest and make big sound and noise to scare those pandas away — out of his jealousy? What is your interpretation of the poem?
Poet background information:
Wang Wei (699-759), style name 摩詰 Mojie and nickname 诗佛 （shi1 fo2， Poet Buddha）, was from 河東 He dong. In Tang Dynasty, he was a famous statesman who possessed great skill in writing, painting and music performing. He was one of the most famous men of arts and letters of his time. Many of his poems are well preserved, and twenty-nine of his were compiled in the 18th century poetry anthology — Three Hundred Tang Poems.
Wang’s retreat at 辋川 Wang Chuan was a special place, which he loved. At there, with his friend 裴迪 Pei Di, he floated the boats, played zithers, wrote poetry and recited verses. This poem, zhu2 li3 guan3, is one of those poems he wrote to reminisce the time he spent at Wang Chuan.
In his later years he became a vegan and often went on long fasting, recited sutras and performed Zen meditation. It is said that one day Wang Wei, without any reason, he just took up his pen and wrote several letters saying goodbye to his younger brother and all his close friends, and after he finished the writing, he cast aside his pen and died peacefully.
Whistle Song Were Wang Wei doing whistle song like this? Funny to think!!
Cantonese version of poem singing
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伍衛國 竹里館 MV
The reason for this song is there are 长啸 two words in it.
朱砂泪
lyrics
引歌长啸浮云剑试天下 白衣染霜华
当年醉花荫下红颜刹那 菱花泪朱砂
犹记歌里繁华梦里烟花 凭谁错牵挂
黄鹤楼空萧条羁旅天涯 青丝成白发
流年偷换 凭此情相记
驿边桥头低眉耳语
碧落黄泉红尘落尽难寻
回首百年去
镜湖翠微低云垂 佳人帐前暗描眉 谁在问君胡不归
此情不过烟花碎 爱别离酒浇千杯 浅斟朱颜睡
轻寒暮雪何相随 此去经年人独悲 只道此生应不悔
姗姗雁字去又回 荼蘼花开无由醉 只是欠了谁 一滴朱砂泪