I see no reason to segregate scientific and technical posts from humanistic ones. In my life, scientific concerns mix with ethical ones, and they shade into a philosophical interest in the nature of cognition and the nature of people. Doing science is as creative as writing fiction, and I get inspiration for both from the same gods.
You will find little here on current politics. I'm activist, but in causes not symptoms. Experience in martial arts shows me that the sure way to lose is reactivity; but if you stay cool and remember your training and what you're there for then you achieve goals and, when conflict is unavoidable, you fight and win. The idea of the liberal arts I was brought up in is that broad understanding of cultures and ideas gives you deeper, better goals -- making success more likely and more satisfying. Negatively, the hysteria since 9/11 shows how a country frightened and reactive can destroy itself more than an enemy can. I'm trying to contribute by changing the terms of discourse. See 
One fact shouldn't require special mention; but -- given the nature of the society in which I've grown up and lived -- it often does: namely that I'm gay. You'll see it in some posts and in some links below. I'm proud of being gay and do not hide; more about this on the 
My Retreat at Chung-nan Mountain
Wang Wei
701-761 CE
(translated by William P. Coleman)
In the middle of my life, I was very fond of Tao;
late, my home is in the south, by this mountain.
When inspiration comes, I go alone —
it’s fine to be free, to know yourself.
I walk along the river, to where it ends,
and sit watching the clouds as they rise.
I happen upon an old man in the forest;
We converse, laugh, and have no fixed time to return.
Readers of this poem may also be interested in my translation of the philosophical work: “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu.
I found the Chinese text and an English translation of this poem — along with the word-by-word literal translation I used to create this one at the website Tang Shi — 300 Tang Poems, from Wengu — Chinese Classics and Poems.
Similar resources are available on p. 187 of Wai-Lim Yip’s book Chinese Poetry: an Anthology of Major Modes and Genres, Duke University Press, 1997; ISBN 0-8223-1946-2.
I also consulted the English translations in the following books:
Seaton, JP. The Shambhala Anthology of Chinese Poetry. Boulder: Shambhala, 2006. ISBN 1-57062-862-9.
Watson, Burton. The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry. New York: Columbia University Press, 1984. ISBN 0-231-05683-4.
Young, David. Five Tʻang Poets. Oberlin: Oberlin College Press, 1990. ISBN 0-932440-55-X.
Yu, Pauline. The Poetry of Wang Wei. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980. 0-253-17772-3.
The grammar of Chinese allows poets to leave interpretive choices open, and it’s an unattainable ideal of translating to bring out possibilities without closing others. I try to use my sense of English to at least intrigue you. If I’ve succeeded, it’s best — even if you don’t know Chinese, which I don’t either — to follow up at the source I cite above and see the original word-by-word translation from which I worked. It’ll be richer than what I’ve given you. To understand the poem best, try to construct your own translation.
More Chinese poetry translations in this blog. Home page for my Wang Wei translations.
Tags: Chinese poetry, My Retreat at Chung-nan Mountain, poem, Poetry, Tang Dynasty poet, Tao, Taoism, translation, Wang Wei
17 February 2008 at 9:47 pm
I like your translations of Chinese poetry so much! I also appreciate very much how you post where you found the Chinese text and word for word translation.
Thank you, it is an inspiration!
Hirsh
18 February 2008 at 7:27 am
Hirsch,
Thanks for your kind words! It’s especially good to know you like the links to the originals. My own translation isn’t meant to be the final word. I’m very sincere in each post when I say people should look at the original and try, at least mentally, to construct their own.
– Bill