Looking for a Recluse but Failing to Find Him
Chia Tao (779–843)
Under the pines I questioned the boy.
“My master’s off gathering herbs.
All I know is he’s here on the mountain—
clouds are so deep, I don’t know where….”
Translated by Burton Watson
The poet came from a humble family. He stayed for a while in a Buddhist temple and became a monk. Later, he gave up monkhood to make several attempts at the civil service examinations. Having failed them all, he continued to live a life of constant frustration and misfortune. Chia’s poetry, mostly in the form of presentations and responses to Buddhist and Taoist monks or recluses, is full of understated oddities and mysteries.