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Chu Hsi (1130–1200) wrote this poem around 1180 while traveling through the mountains to Kao-an, southwest of the capital of Kiangsi province. Chu Hsi was serving as governor at the time. The neo-Confucian point of view is as clear as the moonlight in this poem. Everything is part of everything else, and yet everything has its own nature. Red dust (hung-ch’en) was a term used by Chinese Buddhists when referring to the world of sensation. Some editions attribute this poem to Ch’eng Hao.

Autumn Moon

CHU HSI

A pure stream flows past a jade green peak

the water and the sky have the clear look of fall

dozens of miles from the world of red dust

white clouds and yellow leaves appear without end