I invited you to dismount from your horse and accept some wine.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
You said, "I could not fulfill my goal with my position,
So I resigned, and plan to retire to the foot of Southern Mountain
2."
I let you go and asked no more questions.
Your happy life, like white clouds, will last forever.
1
Wang originally wanted to acquire a government position to serve people.
However, he lost confidence when Lin-Fu Li became the Prime Minister because Li
was jealous of talented people. Because he was afraid of inciting jealousy, he
lived partly as an official and partly as a hermit. Thus, Wang transferred his
focus to mountains, rivers, and his garden. When Wang heard that his friend
wanted to become an hermit, he sympathized with him.
2
Southern Mountain refers to Qin Mountain. It is located at south of modern
Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.