The poem
Looking for the Hermit (寻隐者不遇, Xún Yǐn Zhě Bú Yù) by Jia Dao (贾岛).
松下问童子sōng xià wèn tóng zǐUnder the pine tree I ask the boy,
言师采药去yán shī cǎi yào qùHe says his master has gone to pick herbs,
只在此山中zhǐ zài cǐ shān zhōngSomewhere on this mountain,
云深不知处yún shēn bù zhī chùBut the clouds are so deep, he does not know where.
What it means
A whole conversation in twenty characters. The poet visits a hermit, only finds his young helper, and never meets the man himself. Kids can act it out: one asks, one answers.
Characters to know
- 下 xià: under
- 问 wèn: ask
- 山 shān: mountain
- 云 yún: cloud
How to practise it
Read the poem aloud together first, then write one line a day using the line buttons above the worksheet. By the end of the week your child can write the whole poem and knows what each line means. When it feels easy, set tracing to 0 and write it from memory.
More poems to print
- 静夜思 Quiet Night Thoughts
- 春晓 Spring Dawn
- 咏鹅 Ode to the Goose
- 登鹳雀楼 On the Stork Tower
- 悯农 Pity the Farmers
- 江雪 River Snow
- 咏柳 Ode to the Willow
- 画 A Painting
- 草 Grass
- 鹿柴 Deer Park
- 相思 Thinking of You
- 游子吟 Song of the Traveller
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