Has anyone read "The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain"?

I have very much enjoyed this book, I'm on my way through it for the third time. Han Shan (Cold Mountain) may have been once a Buddhist Monk, possibly a Confucian ministerial candidate, and a Taoist. He was a hermit who wrote some 300 "songs" or "poems" on and around the cave at Cold Cliff where he lived for many years. He's an odd man, and doesn't mind poking some well-directed fun at both Buddhists and Taoists, and many of his poems have a very Zen feel. He also makes some rather pointed remarks about the Confucian method of governance.

The translator is Red Pine (Bill Porter), who is fast becoming a favorite author of mine. While you're getting the Cold Mountain book you may as well also order "Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits", also by Porter. The Communist Red Guard didn't route out all the mountain ascetics, and Porter found and interviewed quite a few of them. It's a look deeply into the People's Republic of China that you're not likely to get from the usual news sources, and I think it will change your mind about where the PRC is heading in the future. For example, the government is fixing up many of the temples destroyed by the Red Guard, apparently for the tourist trade. China may be opening up far more the CNN is reporting.

I'm also hoping to order his translation of Stone Mountain if I can find and afford a copy.

 

Hi Gaston, the Tao Te Jing has all the answers (provided you can either read chinese or have a rare good translation).

Still, I'm curious about your song book - can you quote a line or two from it?

 

The "songs" are more properly poems that Han Shan carved in the walls of Cold Cliff where he lived much of his adult life.

Three of his poems at random:

(139)
There exists one kind of person
as dense as a block of wood
he speaks without understanding
and says he hasn't a care
but ask about the Tao and he only stares
ask about the Buddha and he just shrugs
discover in detail
a vast expanse of woe

(159)
On Cold Mountain there's a naked bug
its body is white its head is black
its hands hold two scrolls
in one is the Way in the other is Virtue
at home it makes no fire
for the road it packs no clothes
but always it carries the sword of wisdom
ready to strike troublesome foes

(288)
Deer live deep in the forest
surviving on water and grass
stretching out under trees to sleep
how wonderful having no cares
but tie them up in a fancy hall
and give them the richest of foods
they won't eat a bite all day
and soon their loveliness fades

 

they remind me of the second from last chapter of the tao te ching - about the place where people live without needing to come and go. any good links to online translations? these translations are ok - i wouldn't have used the word 'virtue' though - i honestly don't know what it means and i don't think your average joe would either.

 

I've never seen an online source for the complete set (+300) but if you search Google for "poems of cold mountain" you'll find a lot of sites that have some of them. You might also have luck searching for "Han Shan", but there were at least two well-known men of that name.

 

gary snyder translated a lot of han shan's works and I dig his translations. I'd give you guys a link but I don't know of one, search for snyder's stuff though he translated some cool ones.

Cold mountain and all surrounding him/it is amazing.

 

Who can be muddled,and use clarity to gradually become lucid ?
Who can be calm,and use constant application for eventual success?