19

Ch’ien Hsu (fl. tenth century) was a great-grandson of Ch’ien Ch’i, to whom this poem is incorrectly attributed in some editions. Hsu began a promising career in the capital after passing the civil service exam in 898, but he was soon implicated in a political scandal and was sent to serve as the prefect of Nanchang, the capital of Kiangsi province, just south of Lushan. During the Six Dynasties (222–589), Lushan became known for the recluses who made it their home during what was one of the longest periods of instability in Chinese history. The mountain was first named Kuanglushan after one such recluse, K’uang Heng, who moved there during the reign of Emperor Ch’eng (r. 32–7 B.C.). In fact, k’uang-lu means “K’uang’s hut.” Later, K’uang’s name was dropped, and it was simply called Lushan, or Hut Mountain. Ch’ien had hoped to climb its slopes on his way to his new post. But Lushan is famous for its mist, and Ch’ien had to content himself with viewing its half-shrouded peaks from his boat and wondering if any sages had survived the last period of disunion. As this poem was written, the T’ang dynasty (618–906) was coming to end. This was sixty-ninth in a series of one hundred poems Ch’ien wrote while on this journey.

Traveling on the Yangtze

CH’IEN HSU

So close but plagued by wind and rain

I can’t climb Kuanglushan

I wonder if in those mist-hidden caves

any Six Dynasty monks still dwell