A classical Chinese line for “Spring is beginning quietly”

A fine rain softens the capital streets like cream; from afar the grass is green, yet up close it seems absent.

Plain meaningSpring is beginning so quietly that change is easier to see from a distance.

Sleeping in spring, I do not notice dawn; everywhere I hear birds calling.

Plain meaningSpring arrives gently in light, sleep, and birdsong.

After fresh rain in the empty mountains, the evening air turns autumnal.

Plain meaningRain clears the world and autumn quietly arrives.

We look at each other without tiring—only Mount Jingting and I.

Plain meaningNature can be the companion that never exhausts you.

No one knows me in the deep forest; the bright moon comes to shine upon me.

Plain meaningEven in solitude, the moon can feel like quiet company.

In the empty mountains no person can be seen; only the echo of human voices is heard.

Plain meaningThe world can be quiet enough for a distant sound to become vivid.